Practice Makes Perfect
by Mollymawk
Summary: [P4G] Teenage boys are awkward about having feelings for each other, and I am bad at writing summaries.
1. Chapter 1

Yosuke reached over and closed the tentflap. "I declare myself not responsible for anything that happens."

"We tried," Yu agreed. "I really hope Kanji doesn't get into trouble."

"Trouble's his middle name." Yosuke sat back down on his side of the tent, stretching out now that he had a full half of it. "You know he always finds it. When he isn't starting it. He'll be fine."

"If you say so..."

"Hey, I already said 'not responsible,' so don't go making me worry about him. I'd like to go to sleep without a burden of guilt, thank you."

He heard Yu's soft chuckle in the dark. "I guess we probably should sleep."

"Probably. Another exciting day of developing a deep love for Inaba by picking up garbage." He shifted his position to lay on his back, fingers knit behind his head as he stared at the slope of the tent. Nearby, he heard Yu settling himself, and then the only sounds were insects chirping outside.

It didn't last too long. Friends unaccustomed to sharing sleeping quarters become incredibly aware that they're not alone. As moments passed, he wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not, but it seemed like he could even hear his partner's breathing.

With a sigh, Yosuke broke the silence. "I wish I wasn't such a coward."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I talk a big game, but, well, I've never actually, y'know..."

"No, I don't know."

Yosuke's face scrunched up as he pushed himself back up. "C'mon, man, don't make me say it," he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"Then how am I supposed to know what you're talking about?" Yu asked with patient calm as he sat up.

"Dammit." Yosuke glared at the wall of the tent. "You've got a point. Fine. I mean, well... I've never actually...kissed anyone."

"Oh. Me either."

"What, really?" He blinked at his classmate. "But man, you're so smooth."

Yu shrugged lightly. "If you say so. I still haven't exactly had an opportunity."

"I guess we're in the same boat then," Yosuke sighed. "At this rate, when I do get the chance, I'll find some way to screw it up. Y'know, like I always do."

"Not always," Yu objected, winning a faint grin from Yosuke.

"Thanks, but you know what I mean. Maybe I try too hard, or overthink stuff. I guess I wish I had some way to know how before I get the chance to kiss a girl."

"Know what?"

"Y'know. How to...kiss." His face flushed slightly.

"I don't know, it seems straightforward to me."

"Yeah, but don't you ever think about stuff like, I dunno, what to do with your hands?"

Yu paused. "I guess I haven't."

"See? It's a lot more complicated than it looks, I bet."

His friend shrugged again. "Not necessarily."

Yosuke resisted the urge to throw something at him. "Yeah? I thought you said you didn't have any experience."

"I don't, but it doesn't seem like it's that complicated." Yu was being painfully calm about this, as if it was a tough math equation that the two were studying.

"Hmph. You seem pretty confident."

"Well, what's a way to find out? Practice, right?"

Yosuke narrowed his eyes. "Okay, where are you going with this?"

Yu seemed to be calm, but his partner could hear a slight jitter in his voice as he explained. "You said you've never kissed anyone, then you said you wanted to know how before you kiss a girl."

"And where does practice fit- oh. Ohhhh." He sat back, feeling a rush of warmth to his face and a strong aversion to meeting Yu's eyes. "You can't be serious."

"It's practice, right? I don't see what harm there is in it. At least we'd get some experience."

"You're crazy."

"We'd never have to tell anyone. Or talk about it. Promise."

He frowned, his heart beating far too fast for his comfort. "Doesn't it seem kinda wrong? I mean, after what set Kanji off and all," he amended.

"It's just an idea." Yu shook his head. "Nevermind. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry, Yosuke."

"You already said that," he muttered, and got a sheepish smile as Yu started to lay back down.

Silence fell again, but it was a silence that seemed to ring in Yosuke's ears, until he realized what he was hearing was his own heartbeat. There was something about Yu's idea that was very intriguing to him. He couldn't shrug it off and forget about it, as much as he told himself he should do exactly that. No, it was more than intriguing, it was appealing. Who else could he possibly trust for such a ridiculous idea? He knew Yu was being honest, and this wasn't some attempt at blackmail or a practical joke; that just wasn't Yu's style. After a few more eternities of his mind racing into a jumble and his blood roaring in his ears, he sighed explosively and pushed himself back up. "Fine."

"Huh?" Yu was instantly alert.

Yosuke gritted his teeth. "I said 'fine.' Let's do it. Let's...practice. But you gotta swear, no one else ever hears about this."

"Of course. I won't tell anyone. Promise."

He shifted, realizing if they were going to put this crazy plan into motion, they'd probably have to be sitting a lot closer together. "Just once."

"Whatever you say," Yu agreed, without a trace of sarcasm.

"Okay. Okay." He moved a bit closer, his skin tingling. "Just to see what it's like."

"That's the plan." His partner looked nervous too, which gratified him. Yu seemed so unflappable, and that was part of what made Yosuke trust him, but it was a weird relief to know that he wasn't totally calm about this. Kind of nice, actually.

They were sitting face to face now, and even in the almost-dark of the tent Yosuke had a hard time looking at him. This was a crazy idea, this was stupid, and if anyone else had suggested it he'd never agree, but it was Yu, someone so trustworthy, someone who had seen some of the darkest parts of him and hadn't flinched, had even become a closer friend as a result. He took a breath. "I, uh. I'll go first?"

"Okay," Yu agreed. "Take your time."

He felt tense all over, some part of him resisting making the move. As he startled trembling with the effort, he heard him add, "We don't have to if you changed your mind." Somehow that only strengthened his resolve, knowing that Yu wouldn't hold him to it. It was the one last boost of confidence he needed.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and leaned in.

Their lips touched. It was a soft touch, softer than he expected, but it wasn't like he really thought it was going to be hard or rough. It lasted just a heartbeat before he pulled away, leaning back with his heart racing and his breath coming out in a gasp.

"You okay?" Yu asked, voice tinged with concern.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He focused on getting his breathing under control while not forgetting what that had felt like.

"Good." A long pause. "...That was nice."

His throat felt tight, so it took more effort than he expected to agree. "Y-yeah. It was. Um. Probably not much use as practice, though. Too fast to figure out what to do with my hands."

"We could try again," Yu offered in a very soft voice. "Only if you want to."

"No, that- that's okay. I mean, um. Yeah." He could hardly believe he was saying this. "Yeah, let's try again. For longer."

"Only if you want to," he repeated in a firmer voice.

"Yeah, no, I mean, I don't feel pressured. It just makes sense, I mean. With the opportunity and all. To not waste it." He wasn't sure if he was making sense himself.

"Okay. Whenever you're ready. Just do what feels right." Yu was still again. Waiting.

A million thoughts were rushing through his brain, demanding to know what the hell he was thinking, but Yosuke steeled his resolve one more time. One more deep breath, eyes closed, lean in...

Their lips touched again, and this time he leaned closer when they did. He took the advice to heart, doing what felt right, and that meant opening his lips a bit. He felt Yu do the same, a tantalizing soft caress, and he realized a good thing to do with his hands would be to hold on to the person he was kissing, so he put them on his shoulders. Then let one slide down his back as he felt Yu's hands on him. One hand was at the nape of his neck, and he felt a delicious tingle there as his partner's fingers slid into his shaggy hair. He leaned closer, his mouth working in tiny little motions. It was obvious now why those most serious kisses involved tongue, he could understand it because he was feeling the strong impulse to use his, but he held back out of fear of screwing up, because what was going on so far seemed to be pretty good all by itself. Just lips touching and moving against each other, hands on each other, and soft little noises that sounded pleased and the slightest bit hungry...

He pulled back, feeling a momentary resistance from Yu's hands holding him, but then the fingers slid out of his hair and released him. His heart was thudding in his ears, he couldn't get enough air, and his tongue slid over his lips. There was a faint taste of melon, and he remembered that Yu had a melon shaved ice that night.

Yu spoke in a soft and kind voice with a tiny quaver in it. "I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"H-huh?" He wrenched his thoughts back to the current situation, and not the path where they were reliving the memory and running through the implications of having just kissed his best friend. Twice.

"If that's what you can do without experience," he explained, "you don't have anything to worry about when you do kiss a girl."

Yosuke stared at him, and then couldn't help the sharp bark of a laugh that he quickly cut off. His body shook with the suppressed laughter. This entire situation was unreal. He kissed his best friend and now he was getting complimented on his technique? And how was this any more unreal than investigating a murder mystery by going inside a television and fighting shadows with the help of a weird bear?

"Th-thanks, I guess," he finally choked out through his laughter, shaking his head. He felt like he should say more but had no idea what. There wasn't exactly a standard script for this sort of situation. "Um. We should probably get to sleep."

"Yeah," Yu agreed, laying back down again.

He did the same, his heart still pounding as he shifted position a bit closer to his friend. In case Kanji came back, he told himself. He didn't want to get stepped on if Kanji came back. And the way Yu had completely dropped the subject was incredibly reassuring. He felt an inner surge of trust on that weird connection that had been drawn between him and his new friend. A shared experience that he didn't have to justify, or even talk about. It felt good and comfortable. Yu was comfortable.

As his heart gradually slowed, he realized it wasn't going to be as hard to fall asleep as he feared. With consciousness drifting, he wet his lips one last time, with the taste of melon.


	2. Chapter 2

They never talked about that night at the school camping trip. Rather, they talked about everything but what had happened in those few moments when they'd been alone in the tent together. Yu had promised, and Yosuke wasn't about to bring it up on his own. Not when he already found himself drifting into daydreams of Yu's soft lips and the faint taste of melon.

Even if he had wanted to talk about it, events conspired against them. At least, that's what Yosuke insisted to himself. The everyday stresses he'd carried before were nothing compared to their murder investigation, and he didn't want to distract their leader from the important tasks of information-gathering and preparing the team for their trips inside the TV.

Sometimes there was enough breathing room to do something else with their scant free moments. Yosuke would ask if Yu wanted to hang out together and try to get their minds off everything for just a little while, and he would agree, more often than not They'd meet at Junes and share a meal, or down by the river. When it was raining, Yu invited him to his room at his uncle's, and they would spend time just talking about whatever came to mind. Yosuke had never felt as comfortable around anyone as he did around Yu. Talking to him about his worries, his regrets, his frustrations, all seemed so very easy, once he was able to force the words out. He felt that there was no judgment from his friend. A word or two of advice when he needed it, but mostly just a patient and understanding sounding board for him to voice all these muddled emotions and confront them now that they were spoken.

They still didn't talk about that night at the school camping trip, but there was one time that Yu referenced it.

Yosuke had been even more jittery than usual. Work was stressful, Teddie was stressful, and their investigation had ground to a halt. It was a rainy day, but much to the relief of the entire team the sun was due to return tomorrow. So while the girls, Teddie, and Kanji had promised to do what they could to hunt down clues, the two of them were spending the afternoon in Yu's room.

"You really need to relax," he said, eyes soft with concern. They were sitting on the sofa, and Yosuke had just finished telling Yu all about Teddie's latest stunt at Junes that had gotten some of the part-timers even more frustrated with him.

Yosuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know, I know. It just really gets to me, y'know? Those girls expect me to cover for their laziness..."

"Hey. You know you do a good job, don't you?"

He felt the hint of a flush in his cheeks. "I guess so. I mean, I could definitely be doing better, but-"

"No buts. You're dealing with a hell of a lot more than most people could imagine, and you're still getting through it fine. Don't let them get you down. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for." He tilted his head. "After all, you faced down your Shadow."

"Yeah..." He sighed again. "I dunno, man. It just feels like I never get a chance to catch my breath. I mean, hanging out with you is the most relaxation I get." He smiled wryly.

"Does it help?"

"Yeah, man, definitely," he answered, giving him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I keep bitching, but really, it does help."

"Glad to hear it," and Yu looked faintly relieved. Yosuke hadn't realized that his friend had been the slightest bit tense until his posture relaxed. Inwardly he kicked himself. Yu was so goddamn selfless, always putting everyone else in front of himself. It was easy to forget that he had his own worries to deal with, especially as their team leader.

He gave him a bright smile that he hoped was encouraging. "You're not doing so bad yourself, leader. Keeping all of us in line can't be too easy."

Yu chuckled. His laugh was a soft one, the kind that was easily lost if other people were laughing too, so Yosuke appreciated being able to hear it now. "Thanks. I'm glad you think so."

"No worries, man." He leaned back against the couch, listening to the soft patter of rain outside. It reminded him of what they were up against, and he sighed again. "I just wish I could stop worrying about the case."

"We'll solve it. We just need to go back into investigating refreshed."

"I hope so. Man, it pisses me off that the killer got away from us!"

"C'mon, Yosuke. You're supposed to be relaxing."

He sighed. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, I'm the one screwing up. Again. It's like I get there, and then I just can't stop thinking these stupid things that get me all worked up again." He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, giving his partner a glance tinged with jealousy. "I dunno how you can keep so calm."

"Practice," Yu said softly, and the word very suddenly brought to mind the thing that they didn't talk about, that night on the camping trip, when Yosuke had admitted his lack of experience with kissing and Yu had offered to help him practice...

He realized his face was flushed, and looked down nervously. "Sometimes that does help," he said in a very quiet voice.

"It does." His partner was also speaking softly, gently, and Yosuke felt relaxed and tense all at once. It was just so comfortable to be with him, and yet he was having these thoughts that were making his heart race. It made no goddamn sense at all. He screwed his eyes shut, trying to breathe deep and calm down, but all he could think about was that soft touch, fingers in his hair...

He took a breath. "Yeah, about that?" he asked, daring only a glance at Yu out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm listening," he said in an even voice. Calm as always, tinged with concern.

"M-maybe I could use a bit more of that. Y'know, right now. To relax." He cleared his throat. "At least it'd get my mind off things."

"More practice, you mean?" A pause, and then a slight change in tone. "That kind of practice?"

He flushed again, painfully warm against his collar. "Yeah. I mean, if that's okay. It just, it gives me something else to think about, and eventually the experience has gotta come in handy, y'know?"

There was another pause, and Yosuke thought his heart would thud right out of his chest. _Shit, now I've done it, I've gone too far- _And his internal monologue shut right the hell up when Yu said, "Okay. More practice."

Somehow he managed to keep in an explosive sigh of relief, and instead just looked up at Yu with a nervous grin. "Th-thanks," he said, unable to keep the stammer out of his voice.

Yu looked as calm as ever, his eyes still carrying that soft cast of concern. "Only as long as you still want to do it," he insisted, shifting position to turn toward Yosuke on the sofa.

"Oh, uh. Yeah." He turned awkwardly, his knee touching Yu's as they faced each other. "I, uh. I should figure out what to do with my hands, huh?"

"What you did before was good," his partner said quietly.

He flushed. "Um, thanks. So..." Steeling himself against his own nerves, he closed his eyes and leaned in.

The first one was short, just like the first one in the tent. A brief touch of lips, no more, with Yosuke pulling back nervously and Yu giving him a worried look. He assured him that he was fine, and they tried again. This one was another touch of lips, but Yosuke lingered this time, pulling back slowly, enjoying the warmth and gentleness. The third time was when he remembered to use his hands, sliding them over Yu's narrow shoulders, then one moving down his chest while the other curled around his neck. That kiss lasted longer, a bit wetter, Yosuke daring to open his mouth and feeling Yu reciprocate. The break between this one and the next was with a soft gasp for air, his heart pounding and his throat feeling tight. Nerves, and he tried to dismiss them by going into the fourth kiss with much less hesitation, leaning into Yu. His partner's hands were on him this time, and he felt that tantalizing tingle of his fingers threading into his hair at the nape of his neck. It made him gasp into the kiss, lean in eagerly, and dare to touch his tongue against Yu's lips. He heard a muffled little sound of surprise, and then felt Yu's tongue, just as hesitant as his own, tasting briefly before pulling back. It was too brief to be clumsy, but he decided he liked it enough to dare a bit of clumsiness, and tried again for a bit longer. To his delight, Yu reciprocated again, and Yosuke tested a few tantalizing ideas of what exactly to do with his tongue, hearing soft little sounds from his partner as feedback to perfect his technique.

By now he was feeling a powerful urge to be even closer, realizing that their position on the sofa was keeping them further apart than he'd like. He didn't want to break off the kiss, because that could make it awkward. Instead, he decided to try keeping the kiss going while adjusting position, to see how to make that work. With slight touches he urged Yu into a more optimal position of leaning lengthwise along the couch, and solved the problem of what to do with his legs by straddling his partner. He felt one of Yu's hands disappear from his back and realized he must be using it to prop himself up on an elbow, so he leaned in closer to him so that he could keep that hand in his hair. He loved how that felt, the way it tugged his hair when he flexed his fingers, and wanted that to keep happening. The kisses were continuing, except they seemed to be a bit faster now, with soft little gasps between each one, and a really amazing feeling running through his body. His heart was pounding, his throat was tight, but he didn't care because the only thing on his mind was how to keep getting Yu to make those soft sounds with his hand in his hair.

The sound of a car pulling up outside broke things off very abruptly, Yosuke pulling back and grabbing onto the back of the sofa, Yu releasing him and supporting himself with both arms. "Shit, your uncle-" he hissed, untangling his legs from around his partner and managing to stumble his way into standing up. Yu got up right behind him, looking flushed and disheveled. "Aw crap, man, your hair!" he yelped, realizing that if Yu's hair was out of place, his was probably even worse. Frantically the two boys tried to straighten up just as Yu's uncle called, "I'm home!"

Yosuke felt certain that Dojima, or Nanako, would be able to tell that something was up, and his heart pounded in alarm the entire time as he nervously greeted them. But they both seemed oblivious, as Nanako informed her father that Yosuke had come over after school to study with Yu, and that they'd been in his room since.

"Well, it's getting into evening now, so you should probably head home for supper," Dojima said, not unkindly, and Yosuke took the opening gratefully.

"Yeah, I gotta get back, I guess the grey weather meant we lost track of time, haha. Yeah, so, uh, see you tomorrow, partner?"

Yu nodded, looking calm as ever on the surface, but Yosuke could tell that there were bundled nerves just beneath. "Yeah, I'll meet you on the walk to school. Hopefully we won't need umbrellas."

"Right, yeah, if the rain stops. Uhm, see you later," and he remembered to grab his umbrella and bag as he headed out, feeling like he'd just been pulled back from the edge of a cliff.

The adrenaline rush faded as he headed back home, but not the memories of the "practice session" that they'd gotten in today, and the realization that it really had calmed him down. He wasn't feeling nearly as jumbled and anxious about all their responsibilities. It was like he'd gotten a chance to focus on everything else by focusing on something else entirely for a while. Maybe there really was more merit to practicing than just getting better at what you were doing. Maybe the repetition was soothing too.

Yosuke decided it was definitely worth trying again sometime to find out.


	3. Chapter 3

Yu sat back down on his sofa with a deep sigh. Of all the worst timing! He berated himself for not keeping a better watch on the time, then remembered he'd been a bit too occupied for that. There was a flush in his cheeks now, and he flexed his fingers restlessly, remembering the way it felt to slide his hand into Yosuke's hair.

This was crazy. This was a bad idea that was getting worse. The responsible thing to do would be to never do it again. And yet, Yosuke had brought it up. It had seemed to help him calm his anxiety. Maybe it was worth it, if it helped his partner so much. Worth a little pain and frustration on his part.

Because he wanted it. Oh, did he want it. Yosuke was his best friend, but more than that, Yu was very definitely attracted to him. Sure, sometimes he was an idiot, he screwed things up, he said the wrong things, but after being with him and seeing him face the darkest part of himself, Yu had felt an undeniable thread of...something. Something that tightened their friendship, for certain, but something that also made him want to get to know him better, be closer to him, touch him...

He sighed again. Yeah, he'd suggested it the first time. He'd been fully prepared to laugh it off as a joke, but Yosuke seemed intrigued, and then there were those two soft kisses in the darkness of the tent. Those two kisses only confirmed to Yu that he was attracted to his best friend, but the way Yosuke had refused to bring it up afterward had given him a quiet frustration and the smallest little ache in his chest whenever he thought about it. Not that he was going to bring it up. He needed to see to Yosuke's comfort, as a leader should, as a friend should, and if Yosuke wasn't bringing it up, he wasn't going to make him uncomfortable by doing so himself.

But then it was Yosuke who had brought it up today. Yosuke who had initiated. Yosuke who had given him the first kiss, the second, had kept going, had straddled him...

He ran a hand along the back of his neck, his skin flushed uncomfortably warm. Yeah, he liked that part. He really, really liked that part. It was obvious that Yosuke did, too. Very obvious. Where things might've gone if not for his uncle's poorly-timed arrival...

Well, maybe it was good that he had. Because even if it was obvious to Yu that Yosuke had liked what had happened, it didn't seem to be obvious to Yosuke. And he didn't want to go too far without Yosuke being fully aware and okay with what was going on. That was why he let Yosuke make all the moves. Secretly he was thrilled with just how eager his friend was. He'd used his tongue this time, more than once. Okay, they'd both been a little clumsy, but at the time he didn't care at all. Nor did he care now. It had been honest.

Mostly honest.

He glanced at the clock again. Maybe instead of letting these thoughts torment him, he should do something constructive with the rest of his evening. There were books he could read, work he could do, anything but sit here with his thoughts a tangled mess about his best friend. He pulled the nearest book from the shelf and sat back down to read, but he couldn't get far into a page before the lines got hazy and his thoughts were on the soft little sounds Yosuke made when he was gasping for air between kisses. He gritted his teeth and tried to continue, forcefully pushing the memories out of his mind. It was stupid to dwell on it. It was a bad idea that he never should have brought up in the first place, and he wasn't going to get anywhere but more frustrated if he kept thinking about it.

Besides, he had plenty of other things to worry about. The case, their lack of clues, the need to act before the next fog set in. The unhappiness Nanako had confided in him. His club activities, the friends he'd made there. The requests made of him by the inhabitants of the Velvet Room. There was too much on his plate to worry excessively over Yosuke, even if he was his very best friend and someone he wished was more than just a friend...

His cell rang.

Startled, he put the book aside and reached for his phone, checking the display. His heart skipped a beat when he read the name. It was Yosuke. His fingers seemed to fumble as he took the call. "Hello?"

"Oh, uh, hey. It's me. Um, Yosuke."

"Yeah, I saw the caller ID." He allowed himself a faint smile, even as it felt like the bottom of his stomach had fallen out. His friend was nervous. What was he calling about that made him so nervous? Was he could to talk about tonight? Was he going to say they should stop?

"Oh. Right. Um, sorry. I, uh. Yeah. Sorry, I just wanted to ask if maybe we should all get together tomorrow at the meeting spot and talk over what we've got so far. With the case, I mean. I know the rain's supposed to end tomorrow but it makes me nervous that we haven't figured this out yet."

Oh. The case. Of course. Mentally Yu kicked himself. "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Maybe we can put some things together and get closer to some real clues."

He heard relief in Yosuke's voice, and it occurred to him that sometimes Yosuke very badly wanted his approval. His heart shuddered. "Okay, great! Um, I'll contact everyone else, okay?"

"Sounds good. Thanks, Yosuke."

"No problem. Oh, and-" He broke off nervously. "Um, about tonight."

Yu's heart skipped another beat. "Yeah?" he asked, as calmly as he could possibly manage.

"It, uh. It helped. So...thanks."

His heart started back up again. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Y-yeah, I'm, I'm glad you're glad. Um, maybe we could, um, do it again sometime, when I need to get my mind off things?"

_Oh no._ This was the moment when he should be responsible, he should say it wasn't a good idea in the first place, that they shouldn't be doing something that had such potential to utterly screw things up between them, that he needed to just be honest and admit his feelings instead of hiding them behind his concern. But instead it was the moment when he said, "Oh. Sure thing. I mean, if it helps, I'd be glad to. Just let me know when you feel like it, okay?"

"Okay," and Yosuke's voice sounded flushed with relief. "Th-thanks, man. It-it means a lot to me that you're so, uh, okay with this. It's kinda weird but it works, y'know?"

"Of course. You know I'll do what I can to help you out." Except he was kicking himself for saying yes, for keeping this going. What he should do now was talk about the emotions going on behind it, acknowledge that it was more than just a hard-to-explain method for calming down and getting some practice in. But the words failed him.

"You're really great, y'know that? You're just...you're great. Thanks, Yu. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya," and he ended the call.

Well. Maybe there was a chance that something more would come of this. And that Yosuke had the sort of feelings for him that he had for Yosuke. And they wouldn't need to have an elaborate and ridiculous reason to kiss each other, just the reason that they wanted to and it felt right.

It really did feel right. Moreso than with anyone else he imagine. With Yosuke, it felt right, and he wanted to do it again, and be close, and put an arm around him and rest his head against his shoulder, to smile softly and lace their fingers together, to kiss each other with the fully expressed knowledge that the reason they were kissing was the reason behind most kisses, that the people involved felt very strongly about each other.

Very strongly.

Very...

He collapsed against the back of the sofa with a deep sigh, his voice tight as he put into words what he finally admitted to himself. "Dammit. I'm in love with my best friend."


	4. Chapter 4

Their lives continued. The case continued. The practice sessions continued.

Sometimes Yosuke would stop Yu at school, and ask in a quiet, nervous voice if he thought they could get in some practice after school. Yu almost always agreed, his heart aching despite his sense of guilt for saying yes. They'd spend it in his room, sitting on his sofa, exchanging small talk until Yosuke summoned up the courage to lean in close. Then they shared soft kisses, and to Yu's relief and disappointment they were more restrained than the last time, when Yosuke had nudged him down and climbed on top of him in the middle of the kiss.

He had really liked that, and was ashamed that he'd liked that. He couldn't really allow himself to enjoy it when Yosuke seemed so oblivious to what it had done to him. But the feeling of Yosuke over him, taking the lead and making him feel so good... It haunted him at night, when he just couldn't get it out of his head.

Yu had never really felt drawn to anyone until he'd met Yosuke. The first time they met, he'd felt an undeniable thread of attraction, and in surprise he'd had to reassess what this meant about him. He'd suspected he might be gay, but he'd never felt that magnetic pull toward another person. Not until now. And of course it would be toward someone who was straight.

Though that moment on the sofa when Yosuke had straddled him had suggested to Yu that maybe he wasn't completely straight.

It hurt, to quietly hope, to keep agreeing to these kisses that made him feel weak with emotion, and remind himself that he had to just keep quietly being there for his friend, to help him in any way he could. That seemed to include kissing him, slipping his fingers into his hair, and feeling him relax out of complete trust in his partner and this situation.

If only.

One day after school, it was Yukiko who asked to talk to him. They walked to the hill overlooking Inaba, taking a seat on the bench in the pleasant solitude, and Yu waited to hear what was on her mind.

"You like him, don't you."

He blinked. "Ah, what do you mean?"

Yukiko had a quiet, knowing smile on her face. "Yosuke. You like him."

His heart fluttered. "H-he's my best friend," he answered, hoping that would be sufficient.

"I know that, Yu-kun. But I mean you like him. You know, the way that I like Chie."

"Chie's your best friend, I know," he replied, hoping that would cut off the direction this conversation had gone. He knew better, because Yukiko was relentless when she was after something.

She had a slightly aggrieved expression as she shook her head at him. "Come on, I know we're good at hiding it, but you have to know that Chie and I are more than just really good friends."

"I-" He started to object that he hadn't realized, but the look she gave him quelled that lie. "Yeah. You're right, I know."

She looked down with a soft smile. "I do have to thank you for being so quiet about it. It's a bit of a relief to know you're not going to make a big deal over it."

Yu shook his head. "Why would I do that? I know the two of you are happy. That's what matters."

Now she turned that smile back on him. "See? This is what's so great about you. I wish more people were like you, Yu-kun. That they could just...accept." She sighed softly. "We've been together a while now. Before you moved here. We just have to be really careful, you know? I can't afford to bring any negative attention on my family, especially after...well, you know. So I was kind of thinking that, well...maybe a way to keep people from whispering would be if it seemed like I had a boyfriend."

"Oh? Ohhhh." He flushed as he realized that she meant him. "B-but you said-"

She smiled. "Yes, I know, that you like him as more than a best friend. You never did answer that, by the way." She tilted her head expectantly.

"Well... yeah." He sighed. "I do. But he's..."

"I know., he has no idea." Yukiko's eyes were soft with concern. "I wish I could help you with that. But maybe this idea of mine could. If you want to hear it?"

He nodded, eager for the opportunity to calm his heart. "Yes, please, I'd like to hear it."

"Well," she took a breath. "I thought maybe we could make it look like I'm dating you. And maybe that Chie is dating Yosuke." She grinned at his browraised expression. "I know, that might take more acting skills than they both have, but maybe they could stop bickering long enough. Or at any rate look like they're looking out for their friends? And I get to spend more time with Chie without people starting to gossip, and you get to spend more time with Yosuke. If you're up for this. It's just an idea," she added quickly.

"It sounds like you've thought about this a while," he said softly. She nodded, and he tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry this hasn't been easy for you."

"I keep telling myself that someday we won't have to be so careful, but...not yet." She gave him a considering look with a hint of apology in her eyes. "I'd been thinking about suggesting this to you for a while, because I knew I could trust you to at least pretend. But I was afraid that you might not...approve. Then I saw the way you look at him." She smiled softly. "And I guessed that you felt about him the way I felt about Chie, before I had the courage to tell her so."

Yu felt a pang of guilt. "I don't have the courage," he admitted softly. "Not yet. I need to be honest with him, but..."

"But you don't want to lose him." She nodded in sympathy. "I think...it might take more time for him. But I know he cares about you deeply, as his best friend."

"I'm glad of that," he said wistfully.

"Anyway, ah...if you think we could try that idea of mine... Maybe we wouldn't even have to pretend to be dating, but just being seen with each other would be enough for all these old gossips to pay attention to." Yukiko looked away. "I don't want to take away from your time with him, but maybe...I don't know, maybe it will help? I have a feeling it might. At least you could pretend it's a double date with him, since I'd be actually there for Chie."

He blushed, earning a soft titter from Yukiko. "W-well, and I do want to spend time with you and Chie too," he added quickly. "You're my friends too."

"I know," and she grinned. "You're too selfless for your own good. You really are a great leader, the way you take care of us. Which is why... Well, I really hope things work out with you and Yosuke. I think...I think he'd be good for you."

He blinked. "You do?"

She nodded, radiating confidence. "When I first guessed that you might feel that way about him, at first I wasn't sure, but now I do. I hope he comes around, because he's missing out." She grinned. "I have to admit, if not for Chie, I think I'd want to date you!"

Yu wondered how his life had gotten to a point where he had wonderful friends who frequently reduced him to blushing. He was starting to get used to it.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, partner. Are you free today?" Yosuke waited anxiously for Yu's answer as their classmates started filing out of the room.

Yu paused in the process of getting his things together and nodded. "I can be. Is something up?"

"Well... Um. Just...nerves, you know. This waiting we have to do." He glanced away. It had been a while since the last time he'd suggested this, but the latest frustrating twists in the case had him all knotted up with anxiety.

There was a slight hesitation, a small change in Yu's demeanor, but it passed in an instant, replaced by the calm and collected Yu that he knew so well. "Of course."

"Thanks, partner," he said with a grin, pushing himself out of his desk to accompany Yu home.

Nervous smalltalk was the order of business as they walked to the Dojima residence. Talking about school, careful references to the case and waiting for clues from the real killer, what new disasters Teddie had gotten into that Yosuke had extracted him from. His nerves didn't last very long, however. Yu was a calming presence, someone that made Yosuke feel anchored when he didn't know which way was up. Being with him was so comfortable and easy. It was like no friendship he'd ever had before, and he absolutely treasured every moment he got to spend with him. Even these moments of doing nothing special were special themselves. It just felt so right to be beside him. Being comfortable with him was the best cure for his nerves.

Nanako greeted them as they arrived at the house, her attention quickly returning to her TV show. And then it was up to Yu's room, to the sofa, the door closed behind them. Yu had barely sat down when Yosuke took his place beside him and moved in close for a very urgent kiss.

The tiny little sound of surprise that turned into delight made Yosuke's heart race. He had come to understand what those sounds meant over the course of their practicing, and that by paying attention to them, he could find ways to make this experience even better for his partner. He noted the new information in his mind that Yu didn't mind being ambushed by a kiss, he actually seemed to really like it. The giveaway was how Yu had reacted by sliding his hand around the back of Yosuke's neck and into his hair. That touch made him shiver in a way he couldn't explain. Something about the mix of tenderness and eagerness it showed, the closeness it required, and knowing it was his partner's fingers threading and clenching there. It was one of his favorite things about these practice sessions, and Yu seemed to know it, because he did it when he was pleased by what Yosuke was doing. It was the very best kind of feedback.

The kisses continued without words between them, just soft gasps and sighs. Yosuke usually kept his eyes closed, but he liked to peek in the pause between kisses, to see Yu's face faintly flushed and an expression on his face that made him want to keep kissing so that Yu had all the reason he needed to keep making it. He experimented with where his hands went, enjoying the shock-to-pleasure noise Yu made when he grabbed his collar, the soft wordless murmur he made when his hands slid down his chest, and the gasp that cut off the kiss when his fingers brushed his bare skin beneath the hem of his shirt. Yosuke hadn't dared to do that before, but the reaction made it more than worth it, to feel Yu shudder, feel his fingers clench, feel the embrace tighten, feel a tiny buck in his hips...

A certain discomfort was registering in his brain, something that seemed to be another reaction to what was going on, but between his focus on his partner and his history of dealing with discomfort in that area, he was able to keep from thinking too hard about it.

Besides, Yu seemed to be having the same reaction, so that meant all was good.

The next kiss was initiated by Yu, and Yosuke was startled at the fervor in it. He was being pushed against the arm of the sofa by his partner pressing against him, his tongue caressing gently but insistently past his lips. His breathing was quicker, shallower, heated against his skin. He shifted position, rising up on one knee that he pushed between Yosuke's legs to give him a height advantage. Both hands were in his hair now, and it wasn't the same gentle caress any longer; it had turned into a demanding hold that kept his head exactly where Yu wanted it.

His heart was pounding and his eyes wide with shock. Yu had never been this aggressive before. He'd always held back, reacting to what Yosuke did rather than taking charge. But it was only natural for a leader to take the lead, and in the hammering heartbeats that followed, Yosuke decided that he really, really liked this. It seemed so wanting, so desperate, as if Yu was hungry for him and needed to keep kissing him. And he was perfectly okay with his partner wanting him like that if it meant being touched like this.

Suddenly Yu stopped pressing their bodies together, his hands slipping down from Yosuke's hair to his shoulders, sitting back and drawing his lips away. Disappointed, Yosuke leaned toward him, recapturing his lips and pulling him back with hands clenching Yu's collar. There was no way he was going to allow that incredible kiss to die off so abruptly. He registered shock in the muffled sound Yu made, a sigh that seemed desperate and relieved when their lips briefly parted, and that hand sliding back into his hair again. Yosuke hummed in satisfaction. His partner had no reason to back off. This, all of this, was absolutely wonderful. If he was afraid he'd gone too far, Yosuke was going to show him that he'd loved what he had just done.

The kisses calmed down after that. Less insistent, less desperate, more gentle and lingering. They broke for soft breaths, and there was a moment when their eyes met that Yosuke saw a look of such tenderness in Yu's eyes that his heart skipped a beat. But then there were kisses again, eyes closed, and a hand caressing his hair.

He was so comfortable, so content. He didn't want this to end. But even as he thought that, he felt Yu draw away from him, his hand sliding out of his hair. He tried to press back and hold on, to no avail. The kiss broke off and Yu leaned back, looking away from him with an unreadable expression.

"That was... That was really good," Yosuke said into the silence, his breath still faster than normal.

"Yeah, it was," Yu agreed, almost inaudible. "You've gotten really good."

"Thanks," he mumbled, feeling a bit awkward accepting the praise but nevertheless proud to hear it.

His partner still wasn't looking at him. "You should probably get going, though. I do have some other stuff I need to get done tonight before I get to studying."

Yosuke felt his stomach drop at the sound of that very obvious dismissal. Had he done something wrong? It had all felt so good, Yu even said so-

Recognizing his partner's agitation, Yu reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Nothing's wrong," he said, eyes soft with sincerity. "Not with you. It just, well, we tend to go late with this, and I do have a lot on my plate today. I just wanted to be sure I could help you out, since you needed it."

He flushed. How typical of him, thinking everything was his fault! Of course there were other demands on Yu that had nothing to do with him! And it was just like Yu to manage to set aside time for him despite everything else he had to handle. His flush turned to one of gratitude for his partner. So selfless, so admirable, always taking care of everyone. "Thanks," he said softly, starting to get to his feet. "I worried for a bit. But yeah, don't let me take up too much of your time. I'm feeling a lot better now."

Yu's smile looked relieved, and Yosuke berated himself again for letting him worry. "I'm glad. I'll always do what I can to help you, Yosuke. You know that, right?"

"I know," and he brightened into a genuine smile. "Thanks. I, well. You're just so great. I'm lucky to have you for a partner."

There was a brief flicker of something in Yu's eyes, but it vanished as he nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, partner. Don't forget to take care of yourself, too, okay?"

He heard a soft laugh as he left Yu's room. Why did it seem to fade into a sigh? Frowning in thought, Yosuke went down the stairs, saying goodbye to Nanako-chan before heading out for the walk home.

Maybe there really was something bothering Yu, and he didn't feel like he could talk about it? After all, he'd just spent this time making sure Yosuke was feeling better from the strain he was carrying. What was Yu feeling, bearing a much heavier load? He was trying to make Yosuke feel better, and hide the fact that something was getting to him so that Yosuke wouldn't get worried all over again.

His frown deepened. His nerves were one thing, but worrying about his partner? He always worried about his partner. That was part of being partners, being concerned about each other and trying to help each other. Yu just seemed so self-sufficient that Yosuke felt like he was the needy one. But everyone felt the strain, sometimes. Yu wasn't superhuman, he had to have his own moments when he felt worn down and wished for a break. But there he was, always there for his friends, always listening, helping them with their problems.

Yosuke gritted his teeth, newly determined that he was going to do his best to get Yu to remember that these things weren't one-sided, and if he needed someone to lean on, there was someone right here more than willing to do that for him. For Yu, he'd do anything. The guy deserved it. He deserved the best. Too bad he was going to get Yosuke's best, which didn't meet the high standards of what Yu had actually earned, but at least he would be doing it with all his heart.


	6. Chapter 6

Yu leaned forward on the sofa, holding his head in his hands. What had come over him, to push Yosuke back and kiss him aggressively like that? Why had he given in to the urge to show him what he wanted, when for so long he'd been okay with just accepting what Yosuke gave him? It was upsetting that he had acted without thinking that through. He shouldn't have done it. He shouldn't have lost his control.

That was the real reason he'd cut the practice session short. It hurt to lie and claim that everything was fine, but he couldn't say the truth. _Sorry, Yosuke, I got a little carried away in how badly I want to kiss you, especially after you started messing with my shirt. I'm just completely frustrated that I'm in love with you and I can't seem to do anything about it._ He snorted at his own sarcastic thoughts.

But it had helped Yosuke. And Yosuke had resisted his efforts to end the practicing. He felt his throat close up at the memory of Yosuke reaching for him, seeking his lips again. What if Yosuke did want this?

No, no, that was wishful thinking. He couldn't hope for that just on the basis that it would be so perfect and wonderful if the person he loved felt the same way about him.

Eventually something would have to happen, he'd have to say something and stop this insane idea that had gone on for far too long. But he didn't want that to have been their last kiss. Not when it had promised so much more.

More that he would never have.

Tormented by these thoughts, he tried to force them out of his mind by getting to work on some more translations. He wouldn't have room to think about his partner if he was busy with that.

He hoped.

A few days later, Yu was at the Tatsuhime Shrine with Rise, who said she needed someone to talk to. And of course he had agreed to listen to her as she talked about her frustrations and uncertainties, had given her soft encouragement as she started to find her own path. That really was a big part of it. He didn't really have to give advice to his friends; a lot of the time, they just needed someone they knew they could trust to listen to them and then just say the right things here and there. Not that it wasn't difficult to listen to his friends' troubles and be unable to immediately fix them, but it seemed that this worked the best for everyone. Change happened when the one who needed changing made the choice to change, despite the pressures outside.

Though the hazard of being around Rise was the risk of being teased and flirted with, and today was no exception. As she made yet another suggestive comment about the two of them having a future together, he tried to very gently indicate that he didn't see that as an actual possibility, without hurting her in the process.

Rise smiled softly at him, and stated matter-of-factly, "It's okay, Senpai, I know you're not interested in me that way."

He managed a weak laugh, fighting a pang of guilt with the suspicion that her smile was hiding her pain. Had she really expected him to reject her? Rise? Maybe he should explain. He owed it to her, for all she'd confided in him. She was part of the team, after all. He could trust her with this, right?

He cleared his throat self-consciously. "I'm not...interested in girls, actually." he started.

"I know, Senpai."

He blinked, and she grinned mischievously. "You know?" he repeated.

"Mmm-hmm. I can tell that you don't like girls that way." Her grin was turning into a genuine smile with no trace of disappointment, which relieved him. He didn't want her to hurt over his lack of interest in her! She was a very dear and beloved friend!

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"I know who you do like that way," she murmured in a lilting voice, snapping his attention back to her. "It's Yosuke-senpai, isn't it?"

He felt like his face was flushing and paling at the same time, and was very glad that he was already sitting down.

She giggled brightly. "I knew it! I knew you were closer than just friends! I can tell, Senpai. And not just by the way he calls you 'partner.'"

He swallowed and looked away. "At least, I'd like to be closer than just friends," he said softly, his throat aching and making the words harder to say.

"Oh, Senpai," she said, a note of contrition in her voice, as if she regretted teasing him so badly. "He hasn't said so, has he? Well, if it helps, I think he does, too."

"Y-you do?" he murmured, looking back at her with his heart thudding in a sudden surge of hope.

She nodded, eyes bright with sincerity. "I've seen the way he looks out for you, Senpai. The way he talks about you, the way he looks at you when you're not watching. If he's acting, he's a much better actor than anyone I've ever known! Besides, I don't think even he knows it for sure, but I think he really does like you."

He looked down at his hands clasped in his lap, trying to calm his racing thoughts that were jumbled and aching at what she suggested. "I hope so. I mean...I hope he does, and he's not just feeling obligated. I know he's not...like me. He does like girls."

"Ugh, I know," and Rise wrinkled her nose. "I haven't forgotten the beauty pageant!"

"Neither have I, or the other contest," he responded wryly, earning another giggle from her.

"You looked really cute, Senpai. I'm sorry you didn't win, though. Teddie was just that much cuter."

"Thanks, I think." He chuckled, but it turned to a sigh and the return of that aching feeling inside. The memories of the culture festival's activities were only a brief respite from the worries he was bearing now. Funny how this afternoon had started off with him comforting Rise, but now he was completely useless for that.

"Senpai? What's wrong?" When he was silent, she pressed on. "You can tell me, you know."

He shrugged weakly. Might as well be out with it at this point. If he dodged the question again, she'd just tease it out of him. But he didn't have to tell her everything. She didn't need to know all his fear and guilt. "I just don't want Yosuke to feel...pressured, I guess. I want to be with him, but I don't want him to feel he needs to do it to make me happy. I'd rather be alone if he would be happier that way. It'd probably be better for him that way, too."

"Why are you deciding for him, Senpai?"

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

Rise's face was serious, far more serious than he had expected, with no trace of her usual teasing humor. "I know you're our leader and you make decisions for us as a team, but why don't you let him make this decision for himself? If you decide for him, how do you know how he really feels?"

"I..." He trailed off.

"You didn't think about that, did you, Senpai?" She patted his shoulder. "It's okay. You're so busy looking out for us. But maybe he wants to be with you, maybe he'll figure that out, and you'll never know it if you push him away."

"I'm...pushing him away?"

"Well, not quite, but if you keep pulling back from him, it's the same thing, isn't it? You're making the decision for him, and that's not fair to him." She added wryly, "Trust me, I know a thing or two about people making decisions for you."

He felt a pang of guilt. Rise certainly did have experience with that. And he was screwing things up worse than he'd feared. That last practice session, he had pulled back. Literally. "So what should I do?" he asked, his voice too soft for the quaver in it to register.

She spoke with a level of confidence he hadn't expected, but sounded completely natural coming from her "Let him decide for himself, Senpai. Let him tell you, or show you, what he wants. Who knows, maybe he's already decided that he wants to be with you, and he's just not sure how to tell you because you've been giving him mixed signals. Well, then again, this is Yosuke-senpai, so I don't think that's actually the case right now. But I know he feels something very strong for you. The important thing is letting him decide what he wants to do about it instead of deciding for him."

He flushed slightly. Maybe he had been deciding for him. It would explain an awful lot about the way he'd been feeling lately. "Thanks, Rise-chan. You know, I didn't intend for this to turn into you giving me relationship advice."

"Remember, you helped me, so I'm glad I get a chance to help you, Senpai! Especially if it's relationship advice. I don't mind at all! In fact, I'm really glad to help with this."

Yu wondered again how he'd managed to go from being the quiet loner to having such wonderful friends. It was a very nice change. "You really like giving advice?"

She nodded. "In showbiz, you learn how to read what people are really thinking and feeling, because most people are acting, sometimes on many different levels at once. People get so used to acting that they forget to stop when they don't need to keep it up any more. And then the people in their lives don't know what's really going on. And ever since I got my Persona, I just... I want to be able to help people. Especially you."

He smiled softly. "I really appreciate it, Rise-chan."

"Then take it to heart!" She gave him another of her infectiously bright grins. "Because I think you and Yosuke-senpai would be really cute together."

He flushed deeper, to the sound of her laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

Maybe in theory it was a pretty good idea, but in practice, it had failed miserably.

When Yu had told Yosuke that Chie and Yukiko wanted to make an effort at appearing to date the two of them, in order to send the town gossips off the trail, Yosuke had his doubts that they'd manage to get through one evening. Mostly because he knew there was no possible way he could pretend that he and Chie were dating. He liked her, and their friendship had deepened a great deal this year, but they were the kind of people who couldn't leave well enough alone when it came to each other. They squabbled so frequently that Yu and Yukiko had to keep intervening, and that didn't seem like a situation that anyone would want for their date.

So it was that night at Aiya, where the pretense at double-dating was falling apart at the seams. Yu and Yukiko made for a plausible couple, but it would be hard to convince anyone that Chie and Yosuke were even friends at the rate they sniped at each other. Granted, nerves were high, as the investigation had stalled with no clues from the murderer, and staying in this waiting pattern was hard on everyone. But Yosuke had to admit that he probably would have been acting like this even if things were otherwise going well. It was just too tempting, too easy. Chie left herself wide open.

After they finished and paid, Yu said he'd walk Yukiko home—perfectly reasonable, if they were maintaining a facade of dating. Yosuke said, "Well, later!" and started to head back to his house, when Chie grabbed him by his collar.

"Ow, hey!" he yelped.

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded.

"Home? Where I live? Where Teddie hopefully hasn't destroyed more of my possessions? And hey, watch the headphones!"

"Why do you wear those stupid things all the time? Nevermind, I don't care," Chie cut him off from answering, letting go of his shirt and crossing her arms. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Umm, that you have a freakishly strong grip?" He rubbed his neck.

"Shove it. You're supposed to walk me home too."

Yosuke glanced around out of the corners of his eyes. "Seriously? I don't think anyone's going to be watching us. And I'd rather stay alive and in one piece at least until the next trip into the TV."

Chie was fuming. This was not a good sign. "Walk. Me. Home."

"Okay, okay, yeesh!" He adjusted his collar, running a hand over his headphones to make sure she hadn't broken them. "You don't have to yell."

"I wasn't yelling! Ugh, why are you so stupid!" She grabbed his elbow and practically dragged him down the street.

"Chie-san, c'mon, is the rough treatment really necessary?" he asked as he barely managed to recover from stumbling. "Okay, I was a dumbass tonight, but that's not out of the ordinary!"

"No, it's not," she growled, glaring at him as they paced down the sidewalk. "You're the biggest dumbass I know, Yosuke."

"Ow, okay, I know, I said it first, but really?" This was starting to smart.

She scowled at him. "Yes, really. I can't believe you, Yosuke. I really can't believe anyone can be as stupid as you."

Yeah, this was really starting to smart. "Seriously, come on, I wasn't that bad tonight, I've said worse-"

"Oh, you think this is about tonight, is that it? Then you're even dumber than I thought!"

Yosuke stopped. Evidently there was something more going on than he was aware of. "Okay, Chie, please. What did I do this time?"

"It's what you didn't do," she snapped, stopping beside him. There was a streetlight nearby, which made the dark sidewalk a bit less unwelcoming a place to have this confrontation, but he was privately glad that they were in a rather quiet area if Chie was going to kick his ass. "I can't believe you. Do you really not get it?"

"Get...what?" he ventured, feeling the urge to protect vital parts of his anatomy.

"Why we're doing these stupid double dates!"

"Um, well, yeah, I know you and Yukiko- and don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against that, I mean I think it's kinda hot-"

"Shut up!" and she stomped on his foot.

"Ow ow ow, dammit!" He hobbled back, bracing himself against the wall behind them as he lifted his injured foot. "Okay, insensitive comment, I know, bad move, that was dumb, I'm sorry!"

She was glaring at him with her arms crossed. "You should be! Holy shit, Yosuke, do you really not get it?"

"That I shouldn't say stupid things like that? Especially to your face? Yeah, I guess I needed a reminder." He tested putting weight on his foot and winced. It was going to be an awkward walk home.

Her expression changed from one of intense irritation to one of dawning bemusement. "Oh my god, you really don't get it. I didn't think it was possible for even you to be _that _oblivious, but you are, aren't you?"

"Um, tell me what I'm being oblivious about and maybe I can actually answer?" he ventured warily, bracing himself against the wall.

"This isn't just for me and Yukiko. This is so Yu can spend more time with you, too."

He blinked. "But we spend time together a lot." The memory of what, exactly, they did when they spent time together came bubbling to mind, and he hoped his flush wasn't obvious. There was no way he'd ever be able to explain that to Chie.

She covered her face with a hand. "You really are that oblivious," she muttered.

"Um... still waiting..." he mumbled, bracing himself against further violence.

She lowered her hand. "Look. We've all kinda been aware of this. Well, okay, Yukiko knows, and Rise, and Naoto knows too, but I don't think Kanji does. Or Teddie," she added. "We all kinda just wanted to let things work out on their own, but it's getting obvious that you are too stupid to realize what the hell is going on and do something about it."

Yosuke's mind was blank on what she could possibly mean. Something with the investigation? Something at school? Something about Junes? Was it about the culture festival? None of the possibilities seemed to add up. "Ummm...you're really gonna have to be more specific," he said in a wavering voice. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

Chie sighed. "Okay. We all were just gonna let things happen, but you're too much of a dumbass and you'll probably screw things up by not getting the picture soon enough. And meanwhile he's tearing himself up over it!"

"Wait- is this about Yu?" He forgot about the pain in his foot and automatically started to walk back in the direction his partner had gone with Yukiko. He remembered the pain in his foot after one step. "Ow- dammit, you didn't have to stomp on me that hard," he muttered, adjusting his gait into a limp.

"Get back here, and yes I did, and yes it's about Yu!" She grabbed his arm this time, not his collar, much to his relief.

"What's going on? Did something happen to him? How come no one told me? Is he okay?"

Chie facepalmed again, sighing deeply as if trying to summon patience. He tried for the same. If something was wrong with his partner...!

"Okay, I'm going to use small words," she said, enunciating clearly. "Yu is your friend, right?"

"Right," he said. That was a truth of the universe, like the sky being blue and the sun rising in the east.

"And you like him a lot, right?"

"We're partners," he said, gesturing weakly. "What are you getting at? He's okay, isn't he?"

"Yosuke, just listen to me! You know that what you and Yu have is special, right? That he's closer to you than to any of us?"

"Um, yeah, I guess so. We're partners." He repeated the fact, as if that was all that needed to be said about his relationship with Yu. _Wait a sec, does she know about the practicing... Oh shit. How did she find out? This is really awkward. _ He flushed. "Um, maybe I need to explain..."

"Yeah, maybe you do need to explain why you could go this long without realizing that he's in love with you!"

The words forcibly yanked his thoughts out of the path they'd been going down, with a half-formed attempt at explaining dying on his lips. Everything was far too quiet, he could even hear blood roaring in his ears with each thud of his heart. He worked his mouth for a bit to try to remember how to make words, and went with the easiest: repeating what Chie had just said. "He... Yu... he's in...love...with me?" His heart thudded again, not quite a skipped beat as much as a stumbled beat, especially over a very certain word that was so difficult to say.

"That is what I have been trying to tell you," she said in a much quieter voice. "We thought you'd figure it out, but obviously you had no idea!"

"N-no, I didn't..." His mouth felt dry. He remembered the practicing, how Yu had never turned him down, how eagerly he'd responded. "I... I really should have..."

"Yeah, you should have. Because he's tearing himself apart over it. He thinks you don't feel the same way about him, that you won't.."

His heart lurched this time, a visceral reaction to the untruth of what she had just said. His mind hadn't caught on, but his heart had known. A thousand different thoughts were shouting to be heard, insisting that he liked girls, he wasn't gay, it wasn't like that, the way he felt about his partner was hard to explain but it wasn't like that, but he knew that was just as untrue. Because he cared about Yu so deeply, and he wanted to keep having reasons to kiss him. It was getting pretty obvious what that meant. Even to him.

Yosuke leaned back against the wall again, thudding his head. "Shit."

"Well?" Chie was still standing there with arms crossed, but the expression on her face was a lot more thoughtful now.

"I really have to talk to him. But what the hell do I even say?" He flushed deeply, feeling a pit in the bottom of his stomach.

"The truth, Yosuke. Tell him how you feel."

"I-I can't," he stammered. Now his heart was starting to pound. "I can't s-say that!"

"Why the hell not, Yosuke?"

"I'll screw it up! I always screw it up!" _I've already screwed it up,_ he thought dismally.

"Well, you can't keep doing nothing!" She sounded exasperated but sympathetic. "That hasn't helped much."

He gave her a helpless look, unable to even begin to explain how he felt completely unable to rise to the demand.

She sighed, reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder, and rolling her eyes when he briefly flinched. "Look, I know it's hard. _I know_, "she stressed, and he realized that at some point she'd had a conversation with Yukiko about this difficult topic. "But the hardest things are usually the things that are the most worth it. He's worth it, isn't he?"

"Yes," he said in a fervent whisper. There was no hesitation, no question whatsoever.

Chie smiled softly. "Then you'll figure out a way. At least now you know how he feels, and how you feel. That's more than you had going for you earlier tonight."

"Yeah..." He stared blankly down the street, into the pools of light cast by the streetlamps. His mind was still processing the realizations Chie had helped him reach. But his heart had accepted these truths. In fact, it seemed his heart had already known. "Thanks, Chie-san."

"Hey. Pain in the ass or not, you're still my friend. Okay, maybe I was a little hard on you tonight," she admitted.

"But sometimes I need a kick in the ass. Sometimes," he stressed with repetition, seeing an eager gleam in her eye.

"Yeah, sometimes. Most of the time." Her grin reminded him a little too much of some sort of fanged predator, and he shifted uncomfortably. She laughed. "Okay, I'll go easy on you, but only if you promise you're going to talk to him."

"I will, I promise," Yosuke said swiftly. "I just...have to figure out how. What to say. Y'know, everything about it."

"It'll come," she said in a reassuring voice. "I do have _some_ faith in you, Yosuke."

He muttered wryly, "Thanks," already trying to work through how to go about telling his very best friend and partner that he had been kissing for months that he actually really did care about him in a way that was consistent with wanting to kiss him and keep kissing him. His head hurt.

"And hey, we're close enough to my place from here that I'll just head home, and I'll call you when I'm in safe, how's that? I mean, you might need some extra time..." She actually looked vaguely apologetic for stomping on his foot.

Yosuke decided not to press his luck. "Yeah, that sounds good to me. I've got a lot to think about. But yeah, and I'll call you when I'm home."

She put her hands on his shoulders, looking at him. "Yosuke... Just remember, you were his best friend before anything else. I guess that says something pretty good about you."

He chuckled, ducking his head. "I think it says more about how great he is. But thanks. Talk to you later, Chie."

"G'night," she said with a grin, heading in the direction of her home.

Yosuke took a deep breath and sighed, staring up into the bright starry sky that the few streetlights of Inaba couldn't successfully drown out. _I really am a dumbass. At least now I have a chance to get things right. Once I figure out how to do that._ He started toward home, noting in surprise that his foot no longer ached with each step. Or maybe it was that he felt like a burden had been taken off his shoulders. He had a lot to work out, but now he was headed in the right direction. He'd figure out how to talk to Yu, and then he'd explain to him that those feelings, the ones behind the practicing? He'd realized what they really were. And that Yu had them for him. And that he had them for Yu in return. And that maybe they could do something about that to keep it up. Because the thought of being with Yu like that was not only very appealing, it felt so very right.

But outside events conspired against him. Before he had managed to come up with a way to approach his partner with this admission, terrible developments had happened in the case, and they were headed back into the TV on the most desperate rescue mission yet: to save Nanako.


	8. Chapter 8

Yu came home from the hospital to a house that was too quiet, too empty. He was alone with his thoughts, worrying about Dojima and Nanako, and unable to do anything but pretend he was holding up under the strain so that no one else would worry about him. But it was night now, with the silence pouring down on him. He was far too aware of how alone he was. He refused to turn on the TV for background noise. He didn't even want to think about the TV. Not after what had happened.

So he sat in the too empty house, lost in the overwhelming silence, analyzing every mistake he'd made that had allowed this to happen. Yes, they'd saved Nanako, but the fact that she'd gone through this at all was completely unforgivable to him. He should have seen this coming. He should have done something. If he'd acted sooner, this wouldn't have happened. Nanako would be okay. Dojima would be okay.

It was all his fault.

He didn't want to be alone, but he was, and he had only himself to blame. He had to keep going for everyone who was relying on him, so that he didn't let anyone else down.

With his head in his hands he sat in silence, berating himself for every mistake and missed opportunity that had gotten them to this place. And he would have continued until he was too fatigued to stay awake if not for the knock at the door.

Yu got up and approached the entrance warily. Dojima and Nanako were both hospitalized. There should be no one with business at the residence. But the knock repeated, more insistent, followed by a familiar voice. "Yu? It's me. I know you're in there, so can I come in?"

_Yosuke._ He slid the door open to see his partner standing there in the cold night, bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey." Yosuke's eyes were soft with concern. "I, uh. I thought you might want some company."

Yu had to remind himself how to properly respond. The interruption of his wallow in self-loathing had thrown off his reaction time. "Yeah. Yeah, I would, thanks. Um, come in."

As soon as he'd entered, Yosuke put his bag down and took off his coat, then turned back to Yu. "I didn't want you to be alone tonight. I thought you might not answer the phone if I called, so I came over. Bit harder to say no if I'm already here, right? And I thought maybe you'd want me to be with you.".

His heart ached to hear those words coming from Yosuke. Through a tightened throat, he managed to answer, "Y-yeah. I'm glad you're here." He glanced away, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes.

"Hey." Yosuke put a hand on his shoulder. "It's me, remember? Your partner? You don't have to put on a tough act for me. It's been really rough."

The tears were threatening to overflow his eyes now. "I'm the leader. I have to hold myself together. For everyone. For Dojima-san and Nanako-chan."

"We've done all we can for them. They're in good hands at the hospital now." His partner tilted his head. "And why do you think you have to hold yourself together for us? You've always been the one who's held us together. I hope you know that. All the things you do for us? Listening to us, being there, all of that. You keep us together, you make us a team." Yosuke squeezed his shoulder. "So let me hold you together now, okay?"

He blinked back tears in silence. He was trying to keep his composure, but his partner could see past it, and it seemed he wasn't going to be permitted to pretend he was fine.

"C'mon. You don't have to put on a show for anyone. It's just me. And if you think me seeing you like this is gonna change things, well... You saw me fall apart once, and look where we are now." His voice sounded faintly nervous on the edges, which only helped convince Yu of his sincerity. Nervous Yosuke was truthful Yosuke. "But that does give me an idea... C'mere."

"Huh?" He blinked, uncertain of what Yosuke meant.

"C'mere," he repeated, holding out his arms in an unmistakable gesture.

_Oh. _Yu ached to enter the offered embrace, but he hesitated. He wanted so badly for Yosuke to hold him close, to feel his arms around him, to try to forget everything that had happened and all the mistakes he'd made, and just feel safe and not alone. But would it be fair? To share a hug when Yu wanted it for so much more than reasons of friendship and support? He couldn't let himself be that selfish, not right now. It would only make things more complicated, and he'd let this go on for too long already.

But thanks to his hesitation,Yosuke decided for him in no uncertain terms, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close before he could resist. "You dumbass," he muttered into Yu's ear. "I told you, you don't have to be the strong one. Lean on me for a while, will ya? I'm your partner. This is what partners do."

As Yosuke's arms closed around him, he let go of his defenses and held on tight, squeezing his eyes closed as more tears spilled out. Yosuke was going to have a wet shoulder before they were done. He remembered doing the same for him, those months ago. Being there for him had been no strain at all. He'd done what was right, and what he had wanted to do, in supporting his partner when he needed it most. So why did he feel like he was the burden now?

"Being partners means being there for each other," Yosuke continued in a soft voice. "I'm here 'cause that's what I want to do. I want to be someone you can rely on, and you need that right now. You deserve it. Well, you deserve better than me, but I'll do my best," he amended with a self-deprecating tone.

"Don't say that," he objected, unhappy to hear Yosuke sell himself short like that. "I only wish I deserved you." He realized that there was thick meaning hanging on those words, and now wished he could take them back for ones that weren't so obvious.

Yosuke pulled back, resting his hands on Yu's shoulders. For a few heartbeats he just looked at him, as if taking him in, or thinking hard about what to say, and Yu felt even more regret for those uncensored words. "Yeah, well, I guess we could argue about who's got the better deal, but maybe we should just agree that we're better together. Right, partner?"

Unable to fight back a flush, he averted his eyes. "I can agree to that." He felt a strange sense of relief tinged with a pang of anticipation. Because Yosuke hadn't ignored that admission. He'd accepted it without making a big deal out of it. And yet that meant the opportunity to confront what was behind those words had passed.

"I guess that's a start. C'mon, let's go up to your room." He cleared his throat. "I mean, it's kinda creepy, the house all empty like this. At least in your room it's a bit cozier."

Still flushing, Yu nodded. "Sounds good to me."

He sat gingerly on the sofa as he reached his room, and felt his flush renew when Yosuke didn't hesitate in sitting next to him. He wanted this closeness so badly but was afraid to ask for it himself, and Yosuke was taking care of that by just giving him what he needed.

Partners. Was that really what it meant to be partners, the way they were now? Or was this more? He knew what he wanted it to be.

"They'll be okay, you know," Yosuke said, to break a silence that was just shy of becoming uncomfortable. "They're both tough. Dojima-san won't let this stop him for long, and Nanako-chan, she's tough, too. They'll get through this. We just have to wait."

He nodded at his friend's words, because he knew it was true, but his guilt wasn't quelled so easily. "She was so scared..."

"I know. But she knew her big bro would save her. And you did."

He sighed, feeling soul-sick and heart-weary. "I just...I feel like I should have done more. Somehow."

Yosuke gave him a wry smile. "Says the guy who did everything possible. And that's why you're our leader. You're never satisfied, you always wanna do more." He paused, then added softly, "I really admire that in you. I wish I could be more like that."

"You are, though," he insisted, his voice quiet but firm. "Right now, in fact."

"Heh, well, you've got a point," he said with a grin. "But...there's more to it than that." He clasped his hands together, and with a flutter in his heart, Yu realized just how nervous his friend was. "I want to be someone you rely on. That you want to rely on."

His heart skipped a beat. "I... I do, though. You're my partner."

"Then why does it feel like you're holding back?" He fixed Yu with a worried gaze. "It feels like you start to lean on me, then you pull away. If you're doing that because you're afraid I can't handle the burden, you're wrong." Quieter, he added, "You're not a burden. If you need me, I want to be there for you."

It was very warm in his room, Yu realized. His face was warm, his neck and ears too. Maybe that was why he was reading something into Yosuke's words that wasn't really there. Because he thought he was hearing words that could potentially mean that Yosuke wanted to be with himlike _that. _ And he knew that couldn't be true. Yosuke didn't reciprocate those feelings. Yosuke saw Yu as his best friend, that's what he meant by partner. Not more than that. He put his hands down on the sofa cushion to shift position, to give the two of them a bit more space between-

Yosuke seized his hand, twining his fingers into the spaces between Yu's, holding on tight and refusing to let go. "I mean it," he said, his voice becoming rough. "I want to be there for you. In all the ways that you need me. Even the ones you don't want to talk about."

"Yosuke-" he started, his voice failing him. How could he possibly know...?

His partner's eyes were resolute. "I admit it, okay, I'm not the smartest. Sometimes I miss things when they're right in front of me. Sometimes I take things for granted. I need to stop doing that, because I've been missing something pretty obvious, and it's..." His voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat to try again. "It's something I want, too."

Absolute disbelief shot through him. He couldn't mean that. He couldn't possibly. He was only saying it to make him feel better. Yosuke wasn't gay, he was his best friend, and he was only saying this now because he saw Yu hurting and wanted to do anything he could to make him feel better. That's all it could possibly be. This was his fault too, making Yosuke feel he had to do this for him. With a wrenching stab of guilt, he stammered, "Yosuke, I never meant to manipulate you-"

"What? When did I ever say you did?" Yosuke demanded, genuine shock in his voice.

"Th-the...practicing. I shouldn't have let it keep going. I was liking it too much, I wanted all the reasons to keep doing it, but you-"

Yosuke was already flushing, but now the flush deepened. "But I was the one who kept bringing it up, remember? I liked it too. And because I'm an idiot, I didn't realize why I liked it for way too long. But I know why now." He tentatively squeezed his hand. "Because I want to be your partner."

Yu couldn't believe that this was happening, even as his reasons to disbelieve were crumbling away with everything Yosuke said, his protests washing away in the unyielding tide of Yosuke's determination. Weakly he objected, "But you already are my partner."

Sighing, his friend shook his head, giving him an impatient look that didn't quite manage to hide fear in his eyes. "I mean like _that_, and you know it. Do you want it or not?"

He wanted it, he wanted it so badly. Belatedly he remembered that conversation with Rise, realized that he was doing exactly what she told him to stop doing. He was pushing Yosuke away, wanting him close but keeping him apart, even when all signs showed that neither one of them wanted to be apart. Putting that together, he then realized that Yosuke was as afraid of rejection as he was. Yosuke was the one far outside his comfort zone. Yet it was Yosuke who had taken that step, had done all he could manage to do, and was now waiting with baited breath for Yu to accept it or give him the rejection he feared.

Tears burned his eyes again. There was no going back now. "I want it."

"Good," Yosuke said with an explosive sigh, his words an enormous understatement for a relief that was palpable as a warm embrace around both of them. He flexed his fingers around Yu's, a reassuring squeeze that worked to comfort both of them "Dammit, you keep making my heart stop!"

He gave him a sheepish look, his heart fluttering distractingly when he looked at his partner's face. His partner. Who wanted to be his partner. Like _that_. "I never really expected you to feel that way about me. I mean, you like girls."

"Yeah, I do," and Yosuke grinned apologetically, as if it were a character flaw. "I think I still do. But, well, then there's you. Chie helped knock some sense into me. And I realized you're the only one I want to, well, be with. Y'know, like...this."

Before Yu could comprehend what he meant, Yosuke had leaned in to him, his hand sliding down his shoulder to his back, insistently drawing him close. With understanding and his heart racing, Yu closed the distance between them and met his lips for their first real kiss.

It was soft and slow, exactly the way they had practiced for so long, the tiny movements of lips against each other performed exactly in the ways that they both liked so much. Soft touch, soft lips, warm breath, a connection that they both wanted to share, all the very best things they had learned over months of doing this without admitting the emotions behind it, concentrated into what Yu was convinced were the most perfect kisses they had ever shared. And they kept getting better..

The next kisses were tender, lingering, and so full of the meaning that Yu had been afraid to even hint for so very long. Now he felt it from Yosuke, the gentle determination to express feelings that both of them weren't quite able to put into words, put instead into the gentle touch of their lips. He completed the embrace that Yosuke had started, regretfully taking his hand from Yosuke's and moving it to that place at the nape of his neck where he could slide it up into his hair. In response Yosuke shifted his hands, wrapping his other arm around Yu's back. Now their free hands could entwine, and in delight he did just that, threading their fingers together with a gentle squeeze. It was such a tiny gesture in comparison to the kisses, but its meaning was plain: this wasn't practice, this was for real.

Their lips parted briefly with soft sighs, but not for long, because there were more tender kisses to exchange and more of their feelings to express. Muffled sounds from Yosuke meant he liked the way Yu's fingers slid through his hair. The way Yu tilted his head was an invitation for a deeper kiss. They knew all of these things already. They knew exactly what the other liked, what they wanted, what worked best. Except this time it was with the feelings Yu had been afraid to show and feared Yosuke didn't share.

They had shared countless kisses before, but this was obviously different. Yosuke really, really meant it, and in each moment he was proving it again and again, in ways that were making Yu start to feel the very best kind of overwhelmed. Light brushes of fingertips along his back. Gentle teasing touches with his tongue. Their lips meeting, overlapping, opening to each other. His heart was pounding and his breath was in tiny gasps between kisses, when he started to whisper Yosuke's name.

"Mmm, I'm right here," his partner answered before their lips touched again. "'m here."

"You really-" another pause for a kiss, "-want this?"

"Mmf, 'course I do, I keep doing it," and he tugged Yu closer, one leg sliding up onto his lap.

"With me?" It was hard to talk between kisses. He needed to hear this, but he also had to keep kissing, in case it would be the last one.

"Thought I said that already." His next kiss was with teasingly more tongue than before and made a delicious shiver run through Yu.

"Mmmf! Partners?"

"Mm-hm."

"With more of this?"

Yosuke pulled back from him, giving Yu a pang of fear. "Do you really need me to spell it out? Yes, I want this, I want to be with you, I want to be your partner like _that_, now can we get back to the kissing?"

He shivered in such relief and delight at those words, closing his eyes to replay the words in his mind. Yosuke wanted to be with him. Yosuke wanted this. Yosuke wanted to be his partner like _that_. Yosuke wanted to kiss him and keep kissing him. Yosuke...loved him. He hadn't said it, but he could feel it in everything he did, in what he said, the way he looked at him, in the bond formed between them. How had he been so blind to it? Why had he let his fear hide the truth from him? They shared an unbreakable bond, and what held that bond together now was not only the love of the strongest friendship, but also the love of partnership.

"Dumbass," he heard his partner mutter fondly, breaking through his daze of amazement. "Guess we do deserve each other. C'mon, I've practiced a lot for this, I'm not gonna quit now."

Yu laughed, opening his eyes to see Yosuke smiling at him, his eyes bright with tears and soft with the emotion he'd hoped for so long to see there. Maybe it was unspoken, but it wasn't unheard. The next kiss said it plainly, as did the next one, and all the ones after.

There were a lot of kisses to share that night, and Yu came to the elated conclusion that their practice had paid off more than he had ever imagined.


	9. Chapter 9

Yosuke almost never woke up in any sort of hurry. He was the kind of person who preferred to ease his way into consciousness, and perhaps draw out the time spent sleeping a little longer than what was permitted by his schedule. Waking up groggy wasn't at all unusual for him. It tended to take him a few minutes to fully wake up—and that tended to bite him in the ass if he was already late for something.

There was no insistent alarm beeping to wake him this morning. In fact, all he could hear were the sounds of birds chirping outside. Something was different. There was something missing, something that wasn't normal. He cracked open his eyes to try to figure it out.

It took him another few moments to register why his room looked so odd. The light was pale and angled as it painted the walls, so he guessed it to be not long after sunrise. Then he realized it wasn't his room. It was a lot cleaner, for one thing, and the squares of light on the walls were in the wrong places, without the usual wall hangings. Confused, he shifted slightly in the futon, discovered it wasn't his futon, and then looked next to him.

It was Yu's room, and he was in Yu's futon. With Yu sleeping beside him.

Yosuke flushed, feeling his heart skip awkwardly in his chest as the memories of the past night flooded back all at once. He came over to see Yu to make sure he wouldn't be alone, and tried to convince his partner to take the support he offered and was sure that he needed. He'd planned to stay the night so that the poor guy would at least have some company, even if he could do nothing else for him.

That wasn't all he'd done. He still wasn't sure just how he'd managed it, but during the night he had clumsily articulated his feelings for his partner, letting him know that the emotions that Yu felt for him were reciprocated. It might have been easier if he'd been able to just flat-out say that he was in love with him, but that was a word he couldn't get past his lips. He just used his lips for other things, though. Like kissing.

There had been a lot of kissing. This was the first time they had kissed honestly, without the pretense that this had some other purpose of "practice" or calming nerves. They had kissed because they wanted to kiss each other, again and again, each one better than the one before it. It had been absolutely incredible, and since he was waking up in the futon next to Yu, he knew it wasn't a dream.

He shifted himself very carefully, not wanting to disturb his partner. Yu was curled up on his side with his back to Yosuke, his hair slightly mussed from sleep. He was in his nightclothes; and Yosuke realizing he was confusingly disappointed and relieved by that. Relieved because he really wasn't sure what he felt in terms of any sort of physical attraction, besides the fact that Yu was incredible to kiss, and he wasn't sure he was ready to think very hard about that, either. Disappointed because...because he kinda wanted to think about it. It was confusing as hell, and he knew he'd have to give it more thought later. Right now he was still adjusting to the concept of being in love with his best friend who was a guy, so he thought maybe he'd cut himself a little slack on examining the full implications just yet.

Yu looked so peaceful. The blankets shifted in time with his breath, a comfortable rhythm that was vaguely hypnotic. Watching him was making Yosuke feel drowsy again, and giving him the urge to just lay back down and sleep some more. He fought it off, because he wanted to get a good look at his partner like this. He wanted to remember the first time he woke up next to Yu while knowing he was in love with him.

He was grateful that he had played a part in what allowed Yu to be so at ease. Watching him in the soft morning light, he felt his throat tightening with emotion. This was his partner. His _partner_. With all the wonderful things that suggested. They were still the very best of friends but now the bond between them had something more to it, and that something felt incredibly good. He watched Yu sleep, feeling a strong desire to maintain the peacefulness on his partner's sleeping face. But he also wanted so very badly to touch him, to hold him again, to be closer to him. Too bad any of that would wake him up.

His arm was getting tired, so he regretfully came to the conclusion that he was going to have to move anyway, and it would probably result in disturbing Yu. Deciding to make the most of it, he leaned down to give his partner a soft kiss on the cheek, and was surprised at just how good it felt to do it.

Yu's eyelids fluttered, and he turned onto his back, his head tilting in the direction of the kiss he'd received. "Mmm..."

Yosuke couldn't help smiling at that. There was something incredibly endearing about his partner being so drowsy, without the armor he usually wore of calm readiness that most people interpreted as indifference. The people who thought that was all there was to him? They were the ones missing out on an incredible person in their lives. "Hey, partner," he murmured softly. His smile broadened as Yu opened his eyes and blinked to focus them.

"Mmm... Yosuke?" he mumbled, a furrow forming on his brow.

"Yeah, it's me." He felt a sudden pang of worry that maybe Yu might have second thoughts about this, now that it was morning, and restrained himself from reaching closer to him, deciding instead to just wait quietly for Yu to recall everything. "I stayed the night."

The furrow disappeared. "Oh. I remember..." Familiarity with his partner had given Yosuke the ability to read his subtle cues. Most people would miss the tiny spread of color in his cheeks that was his flush, but Yosuke saw it plainly. He also saw the tiny worry lines that formed now. "Wait, you're...in bed with me?"

"That's right, partner," he said, softly stressing the last word.

"Partner..." Yu repeated, and the tenderness that washed across his face made Yosuke's heart ache for him. His entire expression was soft and yearning, eyes wide to take him in, as if memorizing him in this moment. Yosuke's throat tightened as he watched this transformation of his partner's demeanor, and he gave in to the urge to put his arm around him and pull him close. Yu didn't resist at all.

Their foreheads touched as Yosuke looked into his eyes. "You still want this?" he asked, needing to know for sure, anxious for the answer.

"More than anything," Yu whispered, and sought out Yosuke's lips for a kiss that stilled all his doubts.

It was one of those slow kisses, the kind where their lips lingered in contact with each other, reluctant to part, wanting to keep this connection between their bodies. Yosuke felt Yu's hand slide up over his arm to his shoulder, and then to his hair, ruffling it softly away from his ear. He tightened the arm he had around Yu, embracing him, holding him close. He sighed softly as their lips parted, then reached for another kiss, wanting more of this quiet perfection of being with his partner.

Okay, maybe they both had morning breath, and laying on their sides wasn't the most optimal position to kiss the way they were used to, and now his arm was going numb from laying on top of it, but those details weren't important. He was in bed with his partner, his partner who loved him, and they were kissing, and this was the most perfect thing Yosuke could think of right now. The most perfect thing that could possibly be happening to him, and it was actually happening to him, it wasn't a dream. This was real.

It was with regret that he broke off the kissing when the numbness in his arm became too uncomfortable to keep ignoring. He settled himself onto his back to let his arm regain circulation and turned his head toward Yu. To his surprise and absolute delight, Yu snuggled up alongside him, resting his head on his shoulder and wrapping his arm over his chest. With a bit of work Yosuke managed to slide his tingling arm underneath his partner's neck and rest his hand on his back. This was a very nice embrace, he decided. And it felt very natural. Very good. Very right.

"I like this," Yu murmured, in an echo of Yosuke's thoughts.

"Yeah?" he asked with a soft laugh. "I do too."

"Pretty convenient," his partner mused, closing his eyes.

"Yeah, it works out pretty good, I think." He reached his hand up to brush his fingertips through Yu's hair. He liked it so much when Yu did it to him, and there was an inherent comfort in the gesture, after all.

"Mmm..." Yu cracked his eyes open and smiled at him, one of those tiny smiles that was mostly in his eyes. Yosuke adored those smiles. Most people missed them. Most people didn't give him reason to smile in such a genuine, unguarded way. This smile, right now, was all for him. Yu's eyes drifted shut, and for a few moments they rested like that.

Yosuke wondered if Yu could hear his heartbeat. He wanted to keep holding him, feeling his soft breath, touch him, be with him just like this. Why hadn't he figured things out sooner? They'd missed out on an awful lot of time that could have been spent like this. Well, maybe not; it was rather special circumstances that allowed them to be alone in the house like this today.

With a guilty pang he remembered the reason why they were alone. Perhaps sensing the change in his demeanor, Yu flickered his eyes open. "Wh' time is it?" he asked.

"I dunno. Not long after sunrise. But it's Sunday."

"Good. We c'n stay like this."

Yosuke chuckled. "Guess you really do like this."

"Mm-hmm," Yu agreed, and shifted position just a little bit with his hips, pressing _something _rather obviously against his leg. Yosuke choked on what he had been about to say, and Yu gave a faint smirk at his reaction. "Sorry. Can't help it."

Yosuke confirmed that what he was feeling was indeed what he thought he was feeling. He also realized to his surprise that he wasn't uncomfortable with the idea, just really really unsure of what to do. "Yeah, fair enough, but, uh, that's...from this, and n-not, um, y'know. Morning...uh..." he stammered weakly.

"Yeah, well, that might have something to do with it. But it got better when we kissed," Yu informed him with all the quiet honesty Yosuke had come to expect from him. Just not about this particular topic. "Don't worry, it's not like I intend to do anything about it. I like just being like this. But you should probably know that you do that to me."

Belatedly he remembered those practice sessions when those certain lower parts of their anatomy had been in contact. Through clothing, of course, but he still remembered it. It had been a bit hard to ignore, after all. He flushed. "I, uh... I do?"

Yu's expression was amused. "You do. Like I said, not like I intend to do anything. You make me feel really good and I want you to know that, because I really need to stop avoiding these things that are actually pretty obvious. That's all, really. You do this to me, I want you to know it, that's all." His grin turned slightly mischievous. "Though I do remember a time when you straddled me."

Yosuke cleared his throat, flushing brighter red. "It seemed like a good idea at the time?" he said weakly.

"Hey, I wasn't complaining. Then or now." His eyes were bright, a flush deepening in his cheeks. "As long as I'm being painfully honest, I really did like it, Yosuke. But here's the thing. We don't have to do anything more than that. Especially not if you don't feel comfortable with it. I just want you to know you make me feel good in a lot of ways. Plus," he added, "it's kinda awkward to try to ignore it."

Tension had been building up in Yosuke since this turn in the conversation, and now he forced himself to try to relax it away. There was no reason to be this nervous, not when his partner was being so quietly reassuring and frankly straightforward on the topic, as awkward as it was. Besides, if he was going to be completely honest with himself, the kiss had kind of had that sort of effect on him too, which was doubling the necessity for him to relax. He just wasn't quite ready to admit that out loud. "Um, it's not that I, um...shit, this is hard to say-" Gratefully he realized Yu had let that opportunity for wordplay slide. "I, uh. I'm not...opposed...in theory, I guess? I just. I'm not really...ready, y'know. For anything of, uh, that nature." He felt like a total loser.

Yu kissed him. "Stop worrying. I told you I don't mind." His smile was a bit wry. "I've had a while to get used to the idea that maybe I'm gay. Well, I guess I actually am gay, but that's not the point right now. The point is, this is all new for you, so I'd guess you've never really thought about it."

"You could say that," Yosuke admitted awkwardly. "I've only ever thought about, um, y'know. With girls." He gave his partner an apologetic half-grin, still flushed anxiously.

Yu chuckled. "Like I said, don't worry. I like being with you like this right now. In fact, I think I like the idea of this better than the idea of that. So don't get all nervous about it, okay?"

"You're remarkably calm for an awkward conversation about that with your partner after just waking up in bed with him for the first time," Yosuke observed with a slightly sour tone, trying to mask his own awkwardness..

"In my defense, I'm not quite awake yet," he answered, as if that absolved him of everything.

"Right, you make this much sense when you're half asleep, sure." Now he grinned and sneaked a quick kiss himself. He couldn't resist, even in the current context. Yu was just so quietly endearing right now.

Yu made a soft noise of delight at the kiss, and he was smiling when they pulled back. "I like this even better, anyway. The way I feel about you is about stuff like this. Being close like this."

An amazing sense of relief and gratitude washed over Yosuke. This could have been so uncomfortable, but his partner was speaking calmly and seriously, kept reassuring him, and was in no way pressuring him about something that did make him feel uncertain. How had he gotten so lucky to have him as a partner? A partner who felt this way about him? A partner who was this patient and understanding? "I-I'm glad you do. Because this is...perfect."

Yu kept smiling that quiet, radiant smile. "I guess there is a lot of benefit to just speaking honestly. I should have told you how I felt a lot sooner."

"We still made it work out," Yosuke said, fighting a pang of guilt for having been oblivious for so long.

"Yeah..." His partner's eyes were getting heavy.

Yosuke remembered that it was still pretty early. Last night had been pretty emotionally exhausting, even if it had taken them to a very nice place in the end. "Wanna go back to sleep?" he suggested.

"Mmm... part of me doesn't want to, but I probably should. Just a little longer. I think this is the first time I slept well since...y'know." His eyes clouded at the memory of the past few days.

Yosuke kissed his cheek, his throat tight with the urge to take away the ghost of pain that was haunting his partner. Nothing he could think of to say seemed up to the challenge, so he did his best with what did come to mind. "It's okay. Don't blame yourself, okay? Just get some more rest."

"Mm," Yu murmured noncommittally, as if unwilling to absolve himself of guilt in that situation. Before Yosuke could pursue that, his partner changed the subject. "Is your arm going to get tired if I keep using it as a pillow?"

"Hmm? Probably. But, well, I kinda like it." His cheeks were warm. "You being this close."

His smile returned. "I like it too," he agreed. "I didn't think I'd like it this much. But it's really nice. I really did sleep well. So thank you, for that."

"Anytime, partner."

Yu's gaze turned speculative. "You better mean that, because I might take you up on that."

"Wha- oh. Y'mean, um, sleeping together like this?" He couldn't help another flush as he tried to clarify away the innuendo.

His partner's eyes softened. "If you could. Everything that happened last night was wonderful, but even if the rest didn't happen, I'm glad you came over to keep me from being alone."

"You're painfully honest this early in the morning, aren't you?" Yosuke mused, still flushing. "Well, I gotta admit, if I can get away with it...well, yeah. I want to keep doing this, too. Maybe if I promise my dad I'll take on some extra shifts, he'll be okay with it. I mean," and he flushed deeply, a shiver of fear running through him, "I don't think I'm ready to, y'know, tell him about...us." He looked away.

"It's okay. I don't think I'd feel up to telling my uncle, not yet. Let alone my parents."

He fought back a sigh. This was one complication that was going to be very difficult. But they weren't the only ones. Yukiko and Chie might be able to give advice, and the fact that their friends supported them in this...well, it helped. "Yeah...well, I mean, I think I can convince him that I'm just staying with you because of, well, you being alone, and stuff like that. And not because we're raiding your uncle's shochu stash. You've got a pretty good reputation for being responsible, that'd probably help. Ah, dammit, but then there's Teddie."

"Have him come over too."

"Wait, what?"

"Have him come over too. He can sleep downstairs. That way we can both keep an eye on him."

"And keep him from going through my stuff or asking my dad all sorts of uncomfortable questions that are really hard to explain later. Yeah, that might work. Especially if he gets the point that we might want some privacy." Yosuke grinned. "It's because you're this brilliant that you're our leader."

"I thought it was my good looks," he deadpanned, smirking when his words made Yosuke choke.

"Um, not to say that you're, uh, I mean, uh- shit. Dammit, man!" He flushed. "Don't do that to me!"

Yu was laughing, that soft laugh that was more felt than heard. "Can't help it, sometimes it's too easy."

"Thought you were gonna go back to sleep," he muttered.

"Mm, yeah, I probably should, before you decide you've had enough of me."

He felt a flush of a different nature this time. "Uh, well. It'd take more a lot more than that," he murmured, glancing away awkwardly. "Like, um. I don't think it could happen at all." He could have made a joke of it, but something about the way Yu said it made him want to reassure his partner, as clumsy as he was about it. Maybe Yu was having his own worries about how Yosuke felt and was trying to hide them behind his dry humor. He just knew he didn't want to give his partner the idea that he'd be sick of him.

Ever.

Yu's eyes were soft when their gazes met again. "Thanks, Yosuke," he said in a quiet voice.

"Anytime, partner. And...I do mean it." What was it about Yu that was making him crave this closeness and honesty? He never thought he'd be the kind of person who'd want to cuddle, but he had to admit that's exactly what they were doing here in bed. And he really, really liked it. Yu was warm and comfortable next to him. It felt good. It felt right.

_So this is what love feels like._ Maybe he couldn't say it, but he knew what it was. The bond between them was so strong, and he knew, he just knew, that what he felt for his partner was something very special. He felt a pang of guilt that he hadn't been able to actually say those words, but he trusted that his partner knew how he felt.

Yu shifted position a bit, and Yosuke took advantage of it to move his arm to a slightly better place. Now his partner was resting his head against him and had an arm over his chest. Yosuke's arm was serving as a pillow and wrapping around his back, and when Yu put his hand on his chest, he put his free hand on top of it, curling his fingers around Yu's.

Their eyes met again, and Yosuke smiled softly, his cheeks red. "Get some sleep," he murmured. "I'll be here. Promise."

Yu sighed deeply, closing his eyes. Yosuke held him, listening to his breathing, and feeling himself start to drift too. As much as he wanted to stay awake to memorize this moment, he decided there were worse things he could do than fall asleep next to his partner for a second time.


	10. Chapter 10

The second time they woke was to the insistent ringing of Yosuke's cell phone. Yu blinked his eyes open blearily as the sound forced him into wakefulness, hearing a muffled groan in the futon next to him. Pushing himself into a sitting position, Yu took stock of his situation, feeling a happy little flutter in his chest as he recognized the shape that had emitted that groan.

The phone was still ringing, and the shape in the futon rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head to block out the sound. Yu grinned. That explained why some of his phone calls to his partner went to voicemail. After a few more rings, the phone went silent, and he assumed that was exactly what happened now. Now there was a gusty sigh from beneath the blanket, which only made him grin more. He was pondering how to go about getting under that blanket so that he could kiss Yosuke's cheek when the phone started to ring again.

"Dammit..." Yosuke groaned in a muffled voice that was becoming positively whiny. "Let me sleep..."

"You'd better answer it," Yu suggested, aware that he was being entirely unhelpful.

The blanket shifted, revealing disheveled auburn hair and an unimpressed scowl. "And there go my chances of ignoring it and sleeping in even later. Wait, what time is it anyway?"

Yu shrugged. He could crane his neck to check the clock, but... "Check your phone.

"You suck." Yosuke kicked off the blankets, heedless that he was removing them from Yu too. As Yu chuckled and wrapped himself back up for warmth, Yosuke got to his feet and grabbed his phone where he'd left it charging on the work table. "Dammit, it's almost 11. And it's Chie."

He felt a brief pang of guilt for sleeping through the entire morning, but reminded himself that he'd been rather low on sleep lately. And it had been very very nice to sleep next to his partner, after all that had happened recently. "Well, are you going to answer it?"

Yosuke glowered at him again, sitting back down on the futon as he took the call. "Hey-"

"WELL!?" Yu could hear her shriek from here.

He pulled the phone away from his ear. "Dammit, Chie, you don't have to yell," he muttered.

"I've been waiting all morning for you to call! What the hell is going on?"

"If you've been waiting all morning, why didn't you call me sooner?" Yosuke asked peevishly. Yu laid back down onto his side, propping himself up on one arm and watching his partner with an amused expression.

"I didn't know you were going to be an asshole who sleeps in all morning! You said you were going to go check on Yu!"

The way Yosuke's eyebrows jumped was very comical to Yu, and he had to stifle a soft chuckle. "Well, uh-"

"Jeez, Yosuke! Didn't anything get through your thick skull?"

"Hey, hang on-"

"You know what? Forget it! I'll go over and check on him, okay?"

Yu decided that this was a good moment to intervene and save his poor partner from the complicated set of emotions that were playing out on his face. "I'm fine, Chie," he said, calling loud enough for his voice to carry.

There was silence on the phone for a few heartbeats, and Yosuke met his partner's eyes with a look that was half gratitude, half glared daggers. "Wait, Yosuke," Chie said, her voice much quieter and harder to hear now. "You're at Yu's house?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you, but you had to go and get on my case instead of listen! Yeah, I'm here."

"Already?"

"Er- yeah, already." Yosuke shifted, turning away from his amused partner. Between his repositioning and Chie speaking at a normal volume, Yu could no longer pick up the whole conversation, but he filled in the blanks based on Yosuke's half. "I didn't think I had to inform you before I went over. I've been here a- a while. Yes, he's fine, you heard him yourself! Seriously? I said he's fine! Are you kidding me? Okay, jeez," and Yosuke shoved the phone at his partner. "She wants to hear it from you," he muttered.

Yu stifled another laugh as he took the phone while Yosuke glowered. "Hey, Chie," he said with the phone to his ear.

"He says he's been there a while. He's not lying to cover his ass, is he?" she demanded.

"No, Chie, he's not. He came over last night." Yu grinned, watching Yosuke's eyebrows jump again.

"Okay, good, as long as he's- wait, last night?"

"Mmhmm. He stayed the night." He was enjoying watching how uncomfortable Yosuke was getting with each word he was saying. "So he wasn't slacking off at all. You know he gives his all when it comes to his partner."

"Oh. Uh..." It seemed Chie was rendered speechless.

"C'mon, mind out of the gutter, both of you," Yu said with a soft laugh. Yosuke just whimpered and pulled the blanket over his head again.

"I, uh. I guess you two talked?" Chie still sounded at a loss for words.

"You could say that." He heard muffled choking sounds under the blanket. This was far too amusing.

"...Wow, Yu-kun, you're...uh, awfully blunt, aren't you?"

He patted the lump under the blanket, earning another pathetic whimper. "When it amuses me, why not? But I think Yosuke's going to die of embarrassment if I keep it up. Sorry we slept in so late and worried you. That's really all my fault. I haven't been sleeping well lately so I kind of indulged."

He heard a low mutter in the phone, "I don't need the details, boys."

"There wasn't any innuendo in that one, so now I think you're expecting it so you're making it up. Wasn't that what Naoto-kun said, something about a confirmation bias...?

"OKAY! Yeesh, this is what I get for worrying about you?"

He laughed. It felt good to laugh, honestly and without pretense, in the company of his friends. Even given the subject matter, which was apparently his (still non-existent) sex life. There was so much going on that was so deadly serious that a break for levity was something he desperately craved, but only a break. His tone shifted as he told himself it was time to face those more serious matters. "Okay, we probably should meet up and go over what we found out in the TV, now that we've all had a chance to rest up. So the usual place, in an hour?"

"That's the leader I know how to deal with," Chie replied. "I'll let everyone else know, since you two are just late starters today."

"Thanks, Chie-san," he said, allowing a smile to slip into his voice.

"Hey, don't think that makes up for taunting me earlier!"

"Didn't think it would. See ya then," and he closed the phone and turned to the lump in the blanket.

The lump was quiet for a few moments, then emitted a sigh. "Was all of that necessary?"

"Probably not," he admitted, tugging at the edge of the blanket. "C'mon, Yosuke."

"No, I think I'll just stay here and die."

"No, you won't," Yu said confidently. "Because that would mean missing out on kisses."

The aura from the blanket lump was decidedly warm and embarrassed now. "You suck."

"You said that already." He decided to avoid the potential for innuendo. For now. "C'mon."

"Fiiiiine," and Yosuke pulled the blanket off his head. His hair was even more of a disaster now, and he seemed aware of that as he ran his hands through it. "Ugh, you couldn't give us more than an hour before meeting up?"

"What, you can't tell me you need more time than that to get ready."

"Okay, I don't, but what if I wanted to take my time?" Yosuke scowled at him. "I don't actually like being in a hurry. It's pretty stressful."

"Then why do you let it happen so often?" Yu grinned.

"Because I'm not perfect, unlike some people I know." Yosuke pushed the blanket off, purposefully making a mess of it. "Besides, what if I wanted to...y'know..." He trailed off as his cheeks turned red, turning his attention to straightening the blanket he'd just messed up.

Yu felt his heart flutter again as he caught on to what his partner meant. "Guess we can't call it practice anymore," he said softly.

"Yeah...this is for real now, isn't it?" and Yosuke looked back up at him with nervous but hopeful eyes.

In an echo of the gesture Yosuke had made last night, Yu put his hand on his partner's, twining their fingers together. "Yeah. This is for real," he confirmed, giving his hand a squeeze.

Yosuke closed his eyes with a smile of unguarded contentment on his face, and Yu could not tear himself away. Seeing him so happy, and knowing that he was the reason for it, was making his heart speed up and giving him a rush of wonderful feelings in response. He felt a pang for having made their appointment so soon, because now all he wanted to do was kiss his partner. His partner. And it seemed that said partner already felt that way, and it was Yosuke who acted now, half-opening his eyes as he leaned in close and met his lips.

Yu made a soft hum of pleasure, lifting his free hand to slide into Yosuke's hair. Such a natural action on his part now, it was almost instinctive in response to a kiss, and he knew just how much Yosuke liked it. He could feel the heat from his partner's cheeks, the soft gust of his breath as their lips parted between kisses, the squeeze of his hand. All their practice really had paid off, because with just a few short kisses Yu's head was already swimming in pleasure. It was only with deep regret that he pulled back, squeezing Yosuke's hand once more.

"C'mon," he murmured. "We've got work to do. Once we get that taken care of..."

"Yeah..." Yosuke sighed, half content and half wistful. "And I'll get things arranged for me to stay over, as often as I can."

Yu squeezed his hand again. "I really appreciate that, partner."

"Are you sure Dojima-san won't mind?" he asked, suddenly looking nervous.

"I'll talk to him," he said calmly. "I doubt he'll mind. And remember, I can use that reputation for responsibility in my favor. Besides," and he grinned, "it's not like we're really getting up to any trouble."

"Y-yeah," and Yosuke flushed again, looking away.

Yu couldn't resist. He dropped the pitch of his voice to a low purr. "Unless you want to..."

The squeaking sound Yosuke made was completely worth it, and Yu noted with a fluttering heart that he didn't pull his hand free even as his flush deepened. "Shit, man, d-don't do that!" he stammered.

He chuckled softly and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Just teasing you," he said, taking on an apologetic tone.

"Yeah, you really are..." Yosuke muttered, still not able to make eye contact, and Yu felt another flutter. Maybe...maybe Yosuke did have some interest in...more physically intimate matters? He mentally shook himself. Now was not the time to pursue that very tantalizing thought. If his partner wasn't as straight as he seemed to be, and might actually want to try other things with him, that would just be icing on the cake. He really was more than happy with what they had right now, and it was a very new and sensitive thing they shared between them. They had to go slow. Especially if it meant more slow, lingering kisses...

Yu gave himself another mental shake and started to get to his feet, tugging gently on Yosuke's hand. "C'mon, let's get ready. We can come back to this later, if you want."

His partner accepted the help up, surprising Yu by pulling him into an embrace as soon as they were both standing. And Yu felt...something...very obvious...as their bodies pressed together. "For the record?" Yosuke whispered in a husky voice, "I think we should. Later."

_Oh, Yosuke..._ His throat felt tight, as did other things, and he forced himself to calm down. They really did have a lot of work to do to get ready for their investigation team appointment, and he absolutely could not spend that time lingering over this amazing possibility.

Yosuke lowered his arms and stepped back, giving him a look that was shy and speculative all at once, and Yu felt the weight of his consideration. _We need to go slow,_ he reminded himself. His partner ducked his head and went for where he'd stashed his bag. "We can get something to eat at the food court," he said, a deceptively normal topic of conversation after the very interesting place things had previously gone. "That'll save us some time. Plus, I'm not a good cook. I mean, I can make some edible stuff, so at least I'm ahead of the girls, but not by that much."

Yu grinned to himself, turning toward the closet to give his partner a little bit of privacy to change clothes. "I'm not too bad at it myself, but you're right, it'll save time," he said as he took off his sleeping pants and tossed them onto the sofa.

"Well, that's good to know," Yosuke commented, and Yu refrained from seeking clarification. Yosuke had just given him some very sensitive hints, and he absolutely did not want to push things right now. He heard the rustle of clothing. "Man, it's usually me rounding everyone up. Kinda nice to get a break from doing the call list."

"And I bet next time you'll be right back to doing it." He pulled on his new pants.

"Probably," Yosuke admitted. "What can I say? I've got job loyalty."

Yu started looking for a shirt, tossing his sleeping shirt onto the sofa with the pants. "Is this going to be hard on your work schedule?"

"No worse than I've dealt with before. C'mon, partner, you can count on me to handle it."

He glanced over at his partner then, and caught Yosuke's eyes lingering on his back. He tugged the shirt down and smirked. "See something you like?" Yosuke made a choking noise, then threw his shirt at him. Laughing, he caught it, then gave it a speculative look. "Hmm, either this is you offering me the shirt off your back, or you've got an ulterior motive..."

Yosuke glared. "Give me that!" grabbing his shirt back out of Yu's hands. "And stop it with the proverbs, you know I failed that on the exams!"

Yu laughed, adjusting his collar. Yeah, he probably should be taking things slow, but sometimes it was just too tempting to tease. Besides, this was a brand new wonderful thing, teasing his partner, his partner who felt this way about him. It made him feel giddy and warm and grateful for the connection they had that allowed it to happen. After all the darkness they had faced, this was something that made him feel like he was full of light. He fully intended to treasure it, especially as they prepared to face the darkness once again.


	11. Chapter 11

The TV droned across the room, reduced to background noise rather than the center of attention. It was quiet in the house, with Nanako and Dojima still in the hospital. But Yu wasn't alone. On the sofa next to him was Yosuke.

The sofa wasn't very large, but that was okay. They wanted to be close to each other. In fact, as soon as Yu had taken a seat up against the arm, Yosuke had slid himself right next to him, worming his wiry body under Yu's arm and resting his head against his shoulder. They started out watching TV together, but not with any sense of purpose. It was just an excuse to be close, one that let them avoid the awkwardness they still acutely felt in this new stage of intimacy. They could pretend it was accidental, unintentional, the way Yosuke was leaned against him, the way Yu's arm rested on his shoulders.

Yu was nervous, but it was a wonderful nervousness. It was a heightened awareness that right next to him, sharing his space, was his best friend. His partner. The guy he'd kissed more than just a few times. The guy who kissed him back, who in fact initiated most of their kissing. He was nervous in the sense that his nerves on edge, tingling in delight and anticipation at the closeness they were sharing. As far as he could tell, Yosuke wanted this closeness, and that was a very lovely thought to keep reconsidering.

As he did just that, Yosuke shifted, and for a brief moment Yu worried that his tension that somehow dissolved the contact between them. That stab of fear quickly abated as he realized Yosuke was just changing position, leaning in closer, pulling his legs up onto the sofa with his knees touching Yu's and his socks hanging off the edge of the cushion. In order to brace himself now he had to get his support from Yu, so he was closer, with more weight on him, wriggling into the hollow at Yu's side.

Yosuke turned his head to look at him, his face revealing worry. "Is this okay?" Still nervous of boundaries, of crossing lines, when this was far tamer than the kissing they'd been doing for months. Still, Yu reminded himself, that was months of not owning up to the feelings behind the kissing.

He smiled softly. "Yeah, it's definitely okay." A flutter went through his heart when he saw Yosuke smile in response, and duck his head to hide the flush in his cheeks.

"Good," he said, his voice a bit muffled now with his face pressed against Yu's chest. "I'll get the hang of this eventually."

"The hang of what?" He could guess, but he wanted to hear it.

The slight pause was a good sign that Yosuke was flushing deeper. "...How to, um. Be close. You know."

His partner's words gave him a giddy lightness in his chest, and he couldn't resist the opportunity to tease him. Even if that teasing was part of his defense against the giddiness he still wasn't sure how to handle. "I think it's called cuddling."

"Mmmph." Whatever it was, it was muffled from his partner's face pressing against his chest. Which was, he thought privately, a very nice sensation. Yosuke lifted his head then, eying him with his face red. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Being all casual about this when you're just as flustered as I am. I can hear your heartbeat, y'know." He paused, then smirked. "And it just skipped a beat, didn't it?"

Yu swallowed. "Y-yeah," he admitted. As if there was any point in denying it.

"I knew it." He rested his head against Yu's chest again. "Yup. Definitely faster now."

"Your fault," he murmured. It was a poor defense, but it was the only one he had at the moment.

Now Yosuke grinned. "I hope so. I was kinda going for that."

His heart skipped another beat. "Really?"

"Well, yeah. It's kinda nice to know I've got this effect on you." A hint of shyness had crept into Yosuke's voice, undermining the confident tone he was trying to present. "I mean, since you've been doing that to me for longer than I can remember. Even if I didn't really know it at the time. I was really kinda oblivious, wasn't I?"

He smiled. Well, it was true, but he wasn't the only one to blame. "I was kinda avoiding the issue myself. At least we made up for it," he said fondly.

"Yeah." He paused, his voice soft. "You sure this is okay?"

"I'm sure," Yu answered, bringing his hand down to slide his fingers into Yosuke's hair. When words failed him, he knew that little gesture would work, because of the way his partner responded to this little show of intimacy he'd started when they first kissed. Yosuke made a tiny little noise in his throat, one of those noises that Yu interpreted as a sound of pleasure that he was nervously trying to suppress, and he smiled softly to himself. They were both so self-conscious, so wary of making a mistake or doing something wrong. Yu wished he could be more confident, because he had absolutely no regrets about the change in their relationship—except, perhaps, that he hadn't been brave enough to change it sooner.

Yosuke was his partner. Maybe "boyfriend" would have been more obvious in terminology, since Yosuke had been calling him "partner" soon after their friendship began and long before it had progressed to this level. Yu preferred this term, though. It had always felt right to him, and now it carried some connotations that made him feel that quiet ache in his chest. Yosuke was the person he trusted most in the entire world, the person who would walk through fire for him, and to feel him curled up beside him gave Yu the deepest sense of contentment he'd known.

His partner sighed. He looked at him with brows raised in question, and Yosuke tilted his head toward him. "Hmm? Oh. Nothing, just... This is really nice." He was blushing again.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed, letting his mouth tilt into the hint of a smile.

"Thanks for, y'know. Putting up with me."

"You say it as if it's tough to do."

Yosuke's grin turned wry. "C'mon. I know I'm not the most put-together person there is."

"Yeah, well, neither am I." Yu slid his fingers through his partner's hair again. "So don't worry about it."

He shifted under the touch. "You're better at it than me, and you're trying to distract me, aren't you?"

"Is it working?" he teased, letting his hand come to a rest at his nape.

"Yeah, it is..." and his words died off into another sigh. "You're good at this."

He smiled. "I'll let you in on a secret. I'm making it up as I go."

"Yeah? So you're naturally talented."

Chuckling softly, he stroked Yosuke's hair again. "When you put it that way..."

"Well, of course I'm gonna put it that way." Yosuke grinned at him. "Because it's also the truth."

He was flushing now, he knew it. He looked away with a soft chuckle. "You're biased."

"Mmm, yeah. I've got the best partner in the world, of course I'm biased." There was another shift, Yosuke repositioning himself again, to be snuggled up even closer. "And I'd be embarrassed as hell about any of this except it's with you, and it feels right, and I really want to keep doing it as long as we can."

Such straightforward honesty about something like this wasn't really what Yu expected from him. It made his throat tight to hear his partner say those things. He knew, with absolute certainty, that he was completely in love with Yosuke, and every time he realized that those feelings were reciprocated, it was such a warm and heady rush that left him feeling quietly and gratefully overwhelmed. Even if Yosuke had a hard time talking about it, he knew how he felt. He felt it in their kisses, in the way he reached for his hand, the softness in his eyes, the flush on his cheeks. He knew, and he was so grateful for every little sign his partner gave him.

No matter what they'd be facing, he had his partner's support.

"It's getting late," he said regretfully, catching a glimpse of the hands on the clock.

"Mmm. Yeah, it is," Yosuke answered noncommittally, burrowing closer against his side.

He chuckled softly. "I take it you'd rather not head to bed just yet."

"What makes you think that?" He tightened his arms around his waist.

"Just a feeling I've got." Gently he slid his fingers through Yosuke's hair, running up from his nape to just behind his ear. He felt a tiny tremor in his partner's embrace as his fingertips touched his ear, and with a soft smile he repeated the gesture.

"Mmmmph. Now you're doing that on purpose." He hid his face against Yu's side again.

"Mmm-hmm. Want me to stop?"

The muffled words he heard next sounded a lot like "That's not fair!"

He laughed. "What's not fair? I thought it was a very fair question. Do you want me to stop?"

Yosuke lifted his head, scowling with a flushed face. "No, dammit, and you know that damn well, and you're just making me say stuff now."

"Not making you do anything, partner," he said, kissing the top of his head. "That's the point of asking. But fine, I am teasing you. A little."

"At least you admit it," Yosuke muttered, sounding mollified as he snuggled back into that comfortable space next to him. "And while we're admitting things, yeah, I don't wanna move."

"We could cuddle in bed, you know," Yu pointed out.

Yosuke's hand clenched in the fabric of his shirt. "Yeah, or we could stay here and keep cuddling longer."

He laughed again, catching the smile on Yosuke's face before he had a chance to hide it. "You just don't want to stop. C'mon. Sooner we get ready for bed, the sooner we can be cuddling there. And the sooner I take my shirt off."

Yosuke's strangled yelp was exactly what he expected to hear. Yu knew he was pushing it, teasing him about his new-found appreciation for the aesthetics of a male body. But it was also very nice to hear that reminder, in the choked embarrassment Yosuke expressed, that his partner did indeed find him attractive, even if he was as yet unsure what exactly he wanted to do about it. After clearing his throat, Yosuke muttered, "Cheap shot."

"I take them in private so you can save face in public, how's that?" and he ruffled his hair affectionately. "Come on, Yosuke. We'll get in the futon and then we don't have to stop cuddling even as we get tired. We can just fall asleep like that." It was what they had been doing whenever Yosuke could stay over, since the house was empty. Because they both enjoyed the closeness, of course. Yu wouldn't admit it, but the nights he spent alone were also nights spent going over every mistake he'd made that had allowed Nanako and Dojima to be hurt. That the incidents had gone on as long as they had, and jeopardized dear friends, was one thing. The fact that Nanako had been in danger and he had been unable to prevent it still weighed far too heavily on him. But sharing the blankets with his partner went a long way in keeping those dark thoughts at bay. It was harder to feel like a failure when right next to him was someone who believed in him the way Yosuke did.

In the long pause, Yu guessed that his partner was regaining his composure, and after a soft sigh, he spoke again. "When you put it that way, I guess it does sound like a good idea. I mean, especially the not having to move. And just falling asleep like that."

He slid his fingertips up Yosuke's nape. "I'm glad you approve of this idea," he said, trying to sound light. In his head, the words meant _I'm glad you want to be with me. I'm glad you want to sleep beside me. I'm glad you keep me from being alone and I'm glad you're there for me._

"Yeah, well, it's a good idea," and he wriggled out from under Yu's arm, his hair in more disarray than normal in a way that made Yu's heart flutter fondly. "Just one thing before we move."

"Oh? What's that?"

"This," and Yu realized he'd been outmaneuvered. Yosuke was ambushing him, moving in close, his lips tugging against Yu's insistently, and he gave in to his partner's demand without hesitation, opening his mouth to him and cupping his hand against his cheek. Warm tongue, gentle caress, throaty little murmurs, that little headtilt of encouragement. He knew Yosuke was stalling again. But he really couldn't find it in him to object, not when it meant that they were kissing, because being kissed by Yosuke was high on his list of the very best things in the world. And it was something that kept happening, with a frequency that delighted him. It was as if Yosuke couldn't get enough of him, of teasing his tongue against his lips, of his fingers threaded in his hair and the way they tangled together in their embrace whenever they kissed. It was as if he really did mean this much to someone else, someone that he cared about so very much. It was intoxicating and overwhelming that Yosuke, his partner, his amazing supportive partner, felt this way about him and wanted to be with him and that they were _partners_.

In the soft sigh when their lips parted, Yu pulled Yosuke close to him as a bulwark against the way his heart was thudding and his body was trembling. His partner. His partner. Yosuke was his partner and that meant something more now than it did before, but maybe it had always meant that they were more than friends and it had just taken them a long time to figure it out, because the idea of Yosuke beside him was perfect and wonderful and something he wanted his life to keep having. Because Yosuke was perfect and wonderful and he wanted to memorize every little touch, every sound, everything about the way he felt, because he just couldn't stand in the torrent of his own emotions and how very much he wanted this, how very lucky he was to have this.

Yosuke was stroking his back now, he knew that he was overwhelmed, and he was just holding him, keeping him close, anchoring him. As Yu took a shuddering breath to compose himself, he was feeling the reassuring warmth of his partner right next to him. His partner. It meant something wonderful, the most wonderful thing he'd known. It meant words he hadn't yet heard but knew the way he knew how to breathe. It meant-

"I love you."

He froze. The words repeated in his memory, he had actually heard them. Then the tears he'd tried to hold back spilled down his cheeks. "Yosuke, oh Yosuke-"

"I-it's still hard to say, b-but sometimes it n-needs to be said, and it's true, you know, it's true," and he was holding him so close with his voice still trembling as the words fell into each other. "It's true, it's how I feel, and it's hard to say now but I guess that means I just need to keep practicing."

"Practicing," Yu repeated, a laugh bubbling out of him as the word connected to its other meaning, the stated reason they'd started kissing. The ulterior motive had been that he had so desperately wanted to kiss his best friend but this was the reason, to practice, so that when it counted they'd be good at it. Except it had always counted.

"Yeah," Yosuke was saying in that tight, giddy voice, as if his very soul was vibrating. "Practicing. I probably need a lot of it. I hope that's okay."

"Yeah, partner," and he kissed his cheek from his ear to the corner of his mouth, along his jawline, then met his lips once more. "Yeah," he breathed between kisses. "Yeah, that's totally okay with me."

"Good-" another kiss, "good, because-" and another, "because you're perfect, you know." Another kiss, longer, lingering, ending in a sigh of deep contentment.

Yu opened his eyes to find Yosuke gazing at him, and even with his cheeks flushed, even with his heart racing and his hands still trembling, he was able to meet that regard and take in the warmth that was his partner's love for him

This was perfect.


End file.
